text:
Red is forced to help the league, but as he said, he is helping her out by having Suicune and Zapdos follow her so that she isn't totally alone. And what do you mean by a different turn? I am rather interested to hear what you have to say.
Red is forced to help the league, but as he said, he is helping her out by having Suicune and Zapdos follow her so that she isn't totally alone. And what do you mean by a different turn? I am rather interested to hear what you have to say.
That before it was just Alaska starting her journey and encountering the Reality Stars as her antagonists then Gideon was introduced and slowly things started to change and get more serious.
Ah, ok. Well, it was always going to take a more serious path, though I can assure it will continue to have its light moments and a lot of comedy, with a hopefully funny scene coming up in the next part
@Alaskapigeon @WinterVines
Eight Easy Steps has returned for another batch! Hopefully the wait hasnt been too long and the short breaks won't be too long either before the next Galactic! A new arc has begun, so let us rejoin Alaska and Sandy.
Chapter Thirty Three: Oh the Analogies
"You know what Alaska: I find this situation a wee bit ironic!"
"What situation?" Alaska replied in a bored tone, not knowing what would come of this.
"Well, just the other day you were complaining about how I was walking too slowly and told me to catch up, but now you're the one lagging behind and I am the one in the lead!" Sandy seemed pretty pleased at herself and found this rather funny. However, Alaska came to a halt and glared towards her: if it hadn't been dark, Sandy would have received one of the ugliest and angriest looks she had ever received, but instead she simply stopped and tried to see why Alaska wasn't moving.
"Sandy, are you forgetting about my leg?" Alaska said bitterly, wincing as she raised her cane up and dangled in for Sandy to see. Sandy stared at it and gasped in her usual dramatic manner, clasping her hands to her mouth and acting as if someone had just been brutally slaughtered before her.
"Oh my god Alaska, I am sooo sorry, I keep forgetting!" She said, rushing forwards and giving her a tight apologetic hug before Alaska got a chance to object. "It's just that your head suddenly healed and we've left the hospital, and I keep thinking you're fully healed, I am so sorry!"
"It is fine," Alaska grunted, "I was merely pointing it out. Now please let go of me before you snap my back in two!" Sandy let go, looking even more apologetic, and Alaska merely brushed the situation aside as she walked forwards, trying to make out a way to go in the strange tunnel they had entered.
It had been three days since the Vermillion harbour had exploded and no one officially knew who or what was responsible, but Alaska knew that it simply had to be Gideon: just like with the nuclear bomb, there was no one else that would possibly do such a thing, even if no one knew why. Alaska had wanted to help but had been forced to stay in hospital under doctor's orders, claiming that they had to wait and see in case her head injury got worse but secretly the doctors wanted to know how it had happened. Alaska didn't want to reveal that Latios has saved her: she didn't want to draw any attention towards herself and knew that having a legendary following her was going to stir something up. Instead, she just said her family had a history of healing quickly and kept her secret to herself, not even telling Sandy or her Pokemon: it would merely cause them worry, and Alaska didn't need anything else to disturb them.
Steven had lingered around and Alaska had heard Red had been around, though she never personally saw him. The ex-Hoenn champion was unwilling to discuss the explosion, and Alaska felt rather annoyed to suddenly be shunned asides when he had appeared so open towards helping her. It could just be the fact he was busy, but Alaska found him asking too many questions about her to counter the ones she asked him, and had a feeling the champion had changed his mind and now wanted her to assist with putting a stop to Gideon. She couldn't be sure, but also didn't want to have them following her and try to pull her towards any dramas, so she gave them a false lead as to where they were going: hopefully Alaska would manage a brief amount of time to focus on training and her journey as she travelled through Diglett's Cave.
It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time, and as soon as the doctor said she could go, warning her about not stressing her leg out too much, Alaska had led Sandy towards the cave, tucked away in the city's surrounding cliffs. However, it had now been nearly two hours of wandering around and Alaska had no idea where she was going. Sandy had brought a torch at a shop near the hospital and it provided a narrow beam of light, but it wasn't enough to fully distinguish things. There were a lot of sharp corners that turned rather suddenly in their dim lighting, and Alaska was getting annoyed as she had hoped to have made more progress. Instead, her leg caused her to hobble along and she could barely follow Sandy and the dim amount of light they had. It might have been fine if they had seen a Pokemon, but not a single Pokemon that they could possibly train against had shown up.
"This is getting boring," Sandy said, almost in a summary to Alaska's thoughts as they turned another bend. The light reflecting off the ways showed this passage was a lot wider and straighter, but it still didn't look very exciting.
"For once I agree with you," Alaska thought with a sigh, rubbing her leg painfully. "Shall we sit down and see if the Pokemon want to come out?"
"Oooh yes, that sounds fun!" Sandy said excitably and leapt down towards a rock. Alaska began lowering herself down just as Sandy screamed and leapt up, clutching her rear. The torch spun through the air and Alaska quickly caught it, wondering what Sandy was screaming about. The beam of light caught something right where she had been about to sit: a Diglett, with its curved body and red nose, had pushed its way through the ground in the exact place Sandy had been about to sit.
"Digle Dig Digle Dig," the Diglett said cheerfully, but suddenly ducked as Sandy swung her leg over its head.
"Silly thing, you nearly hit me!" Sandy huffed, but turned around as there was a thud. She gasped as she saw Alaska had fallen to the ground and was about to rush over and see if she was alright, but Sandy was stunned to see Alaska was laughing. It wasn't quiet and reserved, instead the exact opposite: her laugh echoed around the cave and sounded like a foghorn that had swallowed some canned laughter. It was rather strange to see Alaska, who usual showed her humour in snappy comebacks and kept the rest of her emotions and thoughts to herself, roaring with laughter on the floor of the cave.
"Why exactly are you laughing about?" A confused Sandy asked, looking around to try and see what had set her friend off. Alaska tried to silence herself in order to answer properly, but her laughter simply pushed through.
"You nearly… sat… on a… Diglett!" Alaska explained breathlessly, clutching her sides and unable to contain herself. Saying it aloud set of another chain of laughter, and Alaska continued to laugh until tears streamed down her face, the pain in her leg rising up her back and her cane prodding into her side. It was immature and relatively an overreaction, but Alaska was unable to contain herself.
"What is so funny about that?" Sandy asked indignantly, nearly setting Alaska off again. Sandy stared down at the Diglett to try and see why it was amusing, only to find the Pokemon looked rather confused at the situation itself.
"Can't you see what a Diglett may look like and see why I may find it hilarious you nearly sat on it with that particular area?" Saying this caused Alaska to burst into a fit of giggles she tried to contain by covering her mouth, staring at Sandy's confused look. The blonde stared down at the Diglett, examining every inch of it in the dim light from the torch, trying to work out what Alaska was on about, when suddenly she remembered something from a R-rated comedy she'd seen a bit of on TV.
"Oh my god Alaska, that's sick!" Sandy gasped, looking down at her friend in horror and disgust. Alaska found the reaction hilarious and burst into laughing again, rolling onto her back as her roar echoed, but didn't notice as Sandy snatched the torch and moved briskly away. "You stay here and be immature, I'll try and find where to go next!" And without another word, Sandy thumped away, leaving Alaska in the dark.
"Come on Sandy, it was just teasing!" Alaska called but got no form of response. "Damnit!" She cursed under her breath and grabbed her cane, beginning to push herself up. Her laughter had been brought on by several days of seriousness with little humour, and having a piece of comedy gold thrust upon her was something Alaska simply couldn't resist after dealing with all the past dreariness. However, it seemed Sandy hadn't seen it that way, and Alaska didn't want her friend to be angry with her.
"Wait up, I can't move quickly!" Alaska called, limping after Sandy with more pain than before from rolling on the ground. Sandy seemed to have found a natural staircase leading up towards another level and was proceeding up there, leaving Alaska to feel her way in the dark. "This is really unsafe you now," she called out, having to prod each step with her cane so she knew where it was. "I could easily fall over in this dark!"
"You should have thought of that before you laughed at me!" Sandy retorted. Alaska rolled her eyes as she tried to feel her way, the light getting further away.
"Why are you overreacting to this?" She called back. "I didn't mean to upset you, but I just thought it was funny! We quite clearly have different senses of humour, but there's no need to run off!" Sandy didn't reply to this one, and she was getting too far away. Alaska wasn't going to apologise if she was just walking away and had to do something, and reached into her pocket for a PokeBall.
"Paige, I need you to stop her!" Alaska said, the red light briefly lighting up her path and allowing her to climb the last two steps with clear vision. The light disappeared as Paige formed, barely visible in the dark but had received her order.
"Pidge Pidge Pidgey!" She called, and took off towards the torch beam, which seemed to have stopped moving. Alaska wondered if Sandy had decided to stop and discuss things, and at the same time was simply glad to get a chance to move forwards, but was taken aback as another burst of red light appeared near her.
"Butterfree, Confusion!" Sandy said with a slight huff.
"Free Free," Butterfree said, not able to know who she was truly attacking in the darkness. Her Compoundeyes revealed something before her and gave better vision, but she had no way of knowing it was her friend as her eyes flashed pink.
"OTTO!" Paige gasped, crashing into something nearby. Alaska gasped and hobbled forwards as fast as she could, her cane catching Paige as she fell down from the roof.
"Paige, are you alright?" Alaska asked, unable to bend down due to her knee but staring sympathetically and curiously down. Butterfree hovered over, looking confused and shocked at what had happened, but Paige was thankfully alright, quickly getting up. Alaska smiled in relief, but quickly turned angrily towards Sandy. "What was that for? Paige could have been seriously hurt?"
"What was that for?" Sandy snapped back. "I should ask you the same thing! You didn't seem to think if I would get hurt as you just laughed at me for about five minutes!"
"Sandy, it was only a joke, and I was more laughing at the situation that you," Alaska tried to explain, her tone getting a bit exasperated, but Sandy simply sniffed.
"I am sure that'll make you feel better!" She whimpered. "That's exactly what people use to say to me! Oh Sandy, we weren't really laughing at you, I promise!, Oh Sandy dear, your just overreacting, I am sure that wasn't what happened! Oh Sandy, just take a few deep breathes and calm down! Well, I am not going to take that from you!" She said with a tone that was both thunderous and emotional at the same time. "I've had people mocking me for the way I think and the way I act for too long! Just because I'm airy and don't grasp things straight away people just label me stupid and use it as a chance to take the mickey out of me! I had accepted getting it from them, but I never expected it from you!"
"Sandy, I never knew!" Alaska gasped, shocked and taken aback by this sudden revelation, suddenly feeling guilt building up in her.
"The thing is Alaska, I think you do just think I'm stupid and silly and weird!" Sandy huffed, her voice cracking slightly. "You never seem to want to discuss things with me and never want to just talk! You just spent the past few days in hospital and you ignored all my attempts to start a conversation, even though I was the one who practically told you to use Metal Claw on Voltorb, and I can see your eyes flashing whenever I suggest something you haven't thought of! I know you don't really want to focus about all this drama and just focus on the journey, but I also know that you are trying to piece things together in your mind and trying to work all of this out. If you just put a little bit more trust in me and shared your thoughts than we could try and work out what is going on together, but if you just think I'm stupid and airy than this friendship isn't going to work!" Alaska was shocked, completely taken aback by the sudden outburst: she had always seen Sandy as a bit airy, over dramatic and annoying at times and had secretly found it a bit silly and amusing, but had no idea that this was offending her. Had she really been ignoring her and shunning her away from trying to solve the mysteries around them?
"Sandy, I had no idea you felt this way and I had no idea you wanted to help!" Alaska said quietly, taking a step forwards and trying to look sympathetic, but Sandy turned away with tears in her eyes.
"Don't bother, I don't need sympathy from you!" She said. "I am happy with how I act, now you just need to feel the same!" And without another word, the blonde marched to the side. Alaska thought she was going to jump down into the path below, but saw Sandy was instead heading for a bridge hidden in the dark. Alaska glanced at Paige and saw she was equally as shocked, but Butterfree was moving quickly over to Sandy to console her.
"This is intense!" Alaska whispered to her Pidgeotto. "I had no idea she was this serious about things, did you?" Paige shook her head, and Alaska watched the torchlight as it moved further away, wondering why Sandy had never mentioned being bullied for her airy nature before. Guilt was wrapped around her, and Alaska had no idea quite what to do or say, still thrown by what Sandy had said and trying to work out the times that she may have offended her friend.
"Pidge Pidgey Otto Otto Pidge," Paige whispered, urging Alaska forwards with her wing. It seemed the light had stopped moving, and sniffles and sobbing could be heard from a distance. Alaska couldn't just ignore her friend in this time of need, and knew that sitting down and talking about this, while a bit too girly and serious for her liking, could be an easy way to clear the air now.
"Sandy, do you want to talk about this?" Alaska asked kindly, smiling as she advanced forwards, but Sandy hastily sniffed and swivelled around, almost as if trying to find her way forwards.
"Not right now Alaska, I need some time to myself!" Sandy huffed, sobbing more than before. Alaska had never had to deal with a close human friend before, but had a feeling that Sandy did really want to talk and continued forwards, trying to seem sensitive, but it seemed to only annoy Sandy more. "Are you even listening to me? This is exactly what I am talking about Alaska, you never listen! I DON'T want to talk right now!" Sandy yelled, stamping her foot down on the 'don't'. However, as soon as she did, a crack echoed throughout the tunnel. Everyone froze, not quite sure what this meant, but than several more cracks occurred. No one knew what to do, everyone simply looking around in shock and trying to think of a solution.
"Sandy, stay – ," Alaska began, but it was too late: she gasped as there was the loudest crack of all, and suddenly Sandy was screaming, light spinning around as the torch fell down to the path below. "NO!" Alaska yelled, and leaned over the side as the torch landed on the ground, shattering and taking all the light with it. She clutched at her chest in shock as she stared down into the darkness, no way of knowing what had happened to Sandy…
Originally this was going to be a discussion about all the events that had occured, but I decided to save that for another point in the next arc as I wanted to focus on Alaska and Sandy's friendship, both with revealing a bit about Sandy and getting Alaska to confront how she mocks Sandy a bit. However, all of Sandy's backstory won't be revealed for a little while yet and this will set up some new aspects in their friendship. I also hope to try and squeeze some more Pokemon development in that this chapter didn't really allow for, as I think Pokemon like Nadia and Bellsprout need more personality. However, let's just wait and see what happens next :)
Chapter Thirty Four: A Shiny New Puzzle Piece
"SANDY!" Alaska screamed, leaning down over the edge and staring into the darkness below. "SANDY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Her heart was pounding against her chest as her fingers touched the wooden bridge that only a few moments ago had been solid and fine standing. Alaska had no idea what had happened, only guessing that the bridge was old and had snapped when Sandy stamped her foot, but she really didn't care about how things had happened. Her only focus was on whether her friend was alright, and Alaska desperately tried to make something out in the darkness beneath her, guilt beginning to rise up as she knew that it would all be her fault if something bad had happened.
"Alaska!" Sandy suddenly gasped, and Alaska breathed with relief and exchanged a slight smile with Paige that her friend seemed alright. "Alaska, you need to pull me up, I can't hold on much longer!"
"Pull you up?" Alaska said, turning back around, her little moment of happiness slipping away. She had presumed that Sandy had fallen to the ground but hadn't been knocked out, but Alaska was stunned to realize the situation was very different: judging by the sway of the wood against her fingertips, Sandy was hanging onto the bottom of her half of the bridge for dear life. There was no real way of knowing how far down she had to fall or what could lie beneath if she did so, leaving the only option to pull Sandy up.
"Don't worry, just hang on!" Alaska called.
"Oh ha ha, very funny!" Sandy snapped, grunting as she clutched tightly onto the bridge.
"That pun was unintentional," Alaska called back, realizing how stupid it had been to say something like that based on the reason why they were here. She quickly reached into her bag and pulled out two PokeBalls as Paige and Butterfree came over. The Butterfly Pokemon seemed rather shocked by the incident, and Alaska knew her Confusion wouldn't be enough to save Sandy in this darkness.
"Don't worry, we'll get her out," Alaska said warmly, trying to seem reassuringly but was too worried about Sandy's safety to be sure. She unleashed the two PokeBalls, and the red light highlighted the situation they were in: the bridge snapped almost cleanly into two, both halves now hanging on as the supports bent dangerously. And there was Sandy, looking petrified as she clung helplessly onto her half of her bridge with her legs flailing. As the light faded instantly, Alaska knew they had to move fast before the entire bridge collapsed.
"Para Para," Frances called in the dark behind her.
"Nido Ran Ran!" Nadia added, Alaska sensing her moving around curiously. Realistically, Alaska would have sent Darwin out and used his monkey abilities to rescue Sandy and put an end to this, but there was no way of knowing if he would obey a simple but important order like that. Alaska turned to face the four females behind, knowing they couldn't see her, knowing the two new arrivals would be rather confused, and not knowing if her plan was going to work at all, but it was something she had to try.
"Alright, we need to move swiftly," Alaska explained. "I am going to lean down and give Sandy my cane to grab onto: I need you four to hold onto me to stabilize me, or to help lower me down if I have to. There is no time for arguments or anything like that, we just need to move, alright?" She couldn't see if they agreed or disagreed in the black, but there were no verbal protests, so she took that as a good sign. "Alright, that's good then! Let's just get this over with before any of those Diglett coming poking around."
"Oh ha ha!" Sandy snapped. "Can you stop with the innuendos for one moment? My life is hanging in the balance!"
"That was unintentional!" Alaska called back irritably, trying not to giggle as Sandy's own little pun. However, all signs of laughter stopped as soon as Alaska moved towards the edge: staring down into the darkness below was unsettling, especially as she had no way of knowing what would happen now that the light had gone. But she had made the promise and the declaration, and Alaska couldn't back away now, especially not after the worse things she had been through.
"Here goes nothing," she whispered, and leaned over the edge. Blood instantly rushed to her head as she dangled over the side, and Alaska instantly knew it wouldn't be a comfortable experience but had to soldier on regardless. "Sandy, you need to grab onto my cane, if you can!"
"How am I supposed to see it?" Sandy cried back, and Alaska cursed, forgetting to factor the darkness into the equation.
"Just feel out for it!" She yelled back. She could feel her pants tightening as the four Pokemon grabbed onto them for support, and Alaska had a horrible image of her pants tearing and her sprawling onto the ground below. She forced all negative thoughts out and focused on lowering her cane down, using her other hand to hold onto the bridge for extra support. The wooden structure didn't seem to enjoy the added tension and began t creak, something that didn't happen Alaska's worries of the plan.
"Have you got it?" Alaska called, tapping the cane against the wood and hoping she missed Sandy's head. She felt the cane touch something as she swung it around, and held it steady in an attempt for Sandy to grasp on. She felt something loosely tug down, and a smile crossed her face as the cane was tugged firmly down.
"GOT IT!" Sandy yelled ecstatically. Alaska would have punched the air in happiness if she could, but instead had to focus on using both hands to hold tightly onto the cane now that Sandy's weight had shifted. The Pokemon let out cries of delight back on solid ground, but they now had a difficult mission to get Sandy back up: the Pokemon were going to struggle with both weights now, the bridge was clearly unstable and could go at any moment, and a breeze had suddenly erupted inside the tunnel. Dust and sand was blowing into Alaska's eyes as she had to turn away to avoid it, hoping it wouldn't impair the operation.
"Alright Sandy, just hold onto the cane and use your feet to walk up the bridge to try and help us out!" Alaska explained, feeling a sudden tug as the Pokemon began to pull her back up. There was an angry tutting sound from below, and Alaska realised she had annoyed her friend once more.
"Well of course I am going to use my feet to walk Alaska, I am not that stupid!" Sandy huffed. Alaska rolled her eyes, not intending for her comment to be taken that way, but she knew that amends had to be made.
"Sandy, I am sorry for laughing so hard," Alaska said, trying not to sound irritated. "It was a mean of me and I had no idea that it would upset you that way, but I do think you overreacted. We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't run off! We both just need to build a bridge and get over this."
"STOP WITH THE PUNS!" Sandy shouted, sending a shock through Alaska's body.
"IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL!" She yelled back, her arms beginning to strain the longer Sandy clung on, and her head was beginning to feel strange as nearly all the blood in her body moved towards it. Despite the initial strong tug, the Pokemon were struggling to maintain a hold of the two girls, and Alaska and Sandy were barely moving.
"I don't care if it was intentional or not, it still hurt!" Sandy said, sounding tearful once more but also a lot closer, the sounds of her feet walking up the bridge coming close to Alaska. "Did you even listen before? I have had bullying all my life for the simple matter that I like to view things differently, and therefore I deserve it! I may have accepted getting it from other people, but never from the only human friend I've ever had!" Alaska was taken aback by this, so surprised by this last statement that her fingers slipped slightly. "ALASKA, HOLD ON!" Sandy yelled, kicking at the bridge in an attempt to stop herself from slipping. Alaska quickly recovered and grasped back on, but Sandy's kicking had more far reaching consequences.
There was a crack as one foot collided, and a second as the kick struck. Before anyone knew it, one half of the bridge suddenly swung out. Alaska was still trying to adjust herself and hold on as she felt the bridge sway beneath her, and Sandy screamed as her feet fell loose.
"CALM DOWN!" Alaska cried, stunned by the sudden change in the situation. "You four, pull harder!" She called back to the Pokemon, but she had noticed that they had slipped during Sandy's kicking and the bridge snapping. The bridge continued to sway on the last wooden hold it had left, and Sandy's legs flailed as if they had no choice but to keep on kicking. "Sandy, you need to calm down!"
"Why did you nearly let go of me?" Sandy cried, trying to grasp onto the cane as sweaty hands slipped across its surface. Alaska was struggling to hold on herself, both the rush of blood, the strain of her arms and the sweat gathering on the cane, but she couldn't help but push this all aside as she looked towards where she expected Sandy to be, expecting their eyes to meet through the black.
"I nearly let go because I was surprised," Alaska said seriously. "Not because I was surprised you had no friends… though that sounded kind of mean, but ignore that! What I am trying to save is that I have never had any human friends either... not for the past few years at least. It has just been me and Paige, and while I would never exchange that for anything in the world, it could be lonely at school without anyone with me. I have always been a free spirit and enjoyed being by myself, but when we began travelling together, I realised what it was like to have a human friend and someone to travel with that could actually reply in English." There was a crack, and Alaska and Sandy both cried out as the rest of the bridge disappeared, crashing down below to join the torch. Their bodies crashed against the side, the jagged rocks prodding into them, and Alaska gulped as her body slipped forwards.
"I am sorry for laughing, but I just needed to let my stress out," Alaska said quickly. "I just hope we can get passed this and move on. I can't promise I won't be bitchy or anything again as I was born a bitch and will damn well die insulting the doctors around me if I can, but I can promise to fill you in one as many of my theories about what is going on around us as I can, as it's the least you deserve after dragging you into it."
"Do you promise?" Sandy called in a shriek, their bodies swaying dangerously over the edge. Alaska could feel the cane slipping through her fingers, the pain in the front half of her body uncomfortable and nearing unbearable, but she lunged forwards with one of her hands.
"Of course," she said, the determination of holding her friend up showing in her voice as she grasped onto Sandy's hands, the cane slipping away and crashing to the ground. They were close enough now that Alaska could make out a few of Sandy's features, and though the sudden breeze had picked up and was now gushing sand over them, she could see the light in her friend's eyes and the wide beam of her smile. Alaska didn't quite know where the friendship was going to go from her, and wasn't quite sure what it was going to be like, but, for once in her life, she was willing to see what it would be like to have a true human friend.
Than they began to fall.
It was so unexpected that it took Alaska a few seconds to register: one second she was straining to hold up her new best friend, trying to work out what it was going to be like to have this close relationship with somebody, and the next she was beginning to fall down. Alaska noticed her stomach and heart seemingly turning and her head throbbing from the rush of blood around it, and registered that while something was still holding onto the bottom of her pants, it seemed that they weren't doing a very good job of keeping them still.
"AAAAAHHH!" Sandy screamed as they suddenly seemed to gather speed. Alaska wondered if this was just because of the darkness disorientating her, or the fact she now fully registered she was falling making things speed up, but either way she felt a scream brewing in the back of her throat as well. She clung onto Sandy's hands, not letting go of her even if they were about to die. She had no way of knowing when they would hit the ground, but there was no way to stop them either. It seemed cruel for both girls to suffer this when they had only just found their first true human friend, but Alaska shut her eyes and braced for impact, the only lesson she could truly take from all the disasters that had happened to her was that life had never planned on being fair to her….
And than all she could see was blue.
The bright light shone through her eyelids, and Alaska convinced herself for a moment that she had painlessly hit the ground and had instantly moved onwards to death. However, she could feel Sandy's hands still holding tightly to hers and felt the Pokemon clinging onto her leg, and knew that something else was occurring. Alaska wondered if this was the same strange Pokemon that had rescued her in Vermillion, but there was no strange voices sounding in her head, leaving her with no choice but to open her eyes and see what had happened.
The source of the mystery was uncertain, but the first thing Alaska could see was that they were now hurtling towards a fountain of water that was rising up to meet them. It was glowing brighter than any sunlit ocean Alaska had ever seen, casting a radiant light that lit up every crack and every rock around them. Alaska turned to see Diglett and their three headed evolution Dugtrio were emerging all around at the sudden appearance of the glowing water. She could see stunned looks across Paige, Frances, Nadia and Butterfree's faces, and moved her leg closer despite the pain in attempt to draw them forwards, feeling Sandy's fingernails digging into her hand in fear and for an attempt at comfort at the same time. But before Alaska could bring them close, her back crashed into the water and she instantly sunk through.
The feeling was strange as Alaska slowed down, the water cushioning her speed. All sounds became distant and eerie, and she could feel the water all around her, yet Alaska couldn't feel her clothes going wet. All she could really see was the bright blue light from the water, four shimmering shapes signalling the Pokemon crashing down above her. She had no idea exactly what this water was or where it came from, and just as Alaska tried to put together a formula she began to spin.
Oh, what the fuck now? Alaska thought irritably, her whole body beginning to feel strange as they spun through the air. She was so passed having all these supernatural things happen to her that it was becoming more of a drag than something exciting or interesting, and she knew that it was only going to add something new to the greater mystery.
But as Alaska continued to spin, she found her mind focussing more on that than anything else. Her body didn't seem to be bumping into anything, instead feeling much stranger and somehow more lightweight. The light continued to shine and Alaska couldn't see anything except blue burning into her eyes. The number of sensations she was feeling at the moment were confusing and bordering on unbearable, but Alaska tried to stay focussed and find out what was going on. She caught something move out to the side, and she did her best to try and follow what it was, though the spinning made it unbearable. All she could make out was that it seemed to be glowing as well, with a familiar purple cape fluttering on its back…
But just as Alaska tried to work out why Suicune had saved them from a nasty fall, everything went dark. Alaska could still feel the water over her and could feel that they were going faster, but everything else was dark and a blur. Her entire body felt like it was getting compressed, her head being squashed out of proportion. Alaska was forced to shut her eyes, still feeling the spinning sensation throughout her entire body and trying to work out exactly what was going on.
But as quickly as this had all started, Alaska suddenly found relief: she was sort of spat out of the water, one second spinning and trying to spin and the next shooting through the air. Sunlight burned through her eyelids, and Alaska opened them in time to see a meadow of green grass coming up to meet them.
"FUCK!" Alaska yelled, colliding into the hard ground and feeling a shockwave run throughout her entire body, particularly feeling it in her leg. She rolled forwards a few feet and heard several more thuds, turning over to see the four Pokemon groaning as well.
"Alaska!" A voice shrieked, and Alaska didn't even get a chance to sit up before she felt one of Sandy's familiar, rub crushing hugs. "Oh Alaska, I thought we were going to die! Where did that water come from? And where are we?" Alaska wanted to tell her to let go, but she found the hug rather comforting after having shouted at each other only a few minutes ago. In answer to her first question, Alaska knew she was going to have to tell her what she saw: this incident had mainly made her realize that Sandy was her only human ally that she could truly trust, unlike Steven and Bill, and was the only person who could share in her opinions. However, she had no idea the answer to the second.
"I have no bloody clue where we are," Alaska said, looking up at the cliffs around them that they possibly had come out of, but they could truly be anywhere: whoever had designed Kanto had clearly decided to surround everything with towering cliffs, the equivalent of settling to painting your house interior one colour, and therefore there was no true sign of where they were.
"YOU!" A second shriek erupted behind them, and while Sandy and the Pokemon turned in shock, Alaska simply stifled a groan and tried not to turn around and instinctively raise a fist: of course they had ended up next to them, of course they had been sent to join them. The cruel hand of fate, and seemingly Suicune's water, all wanted to save Alaska's life and then screw her over the next minute, and really this shouldn't have come as a surprise.
"YOU!" The voice said, this time a lot louder and a lot closer. Alaska couldn't really ignore her when she was standing so close, and looked up with a smile, trying to keep her composure. Suicune had seemingly just saved her life, but Alaska wasn't really sure if anything would be able to stop the true wrath of a scorned Chloe Carmichael.
The next few chapters will have the reality stars, yes, but they are a necessary part of the story and the main reason she went on her journey in the first place, so let's try not to complain about them returning too much :P Hope to have some mroe Pokemon development over the next few chapters as well, so look out for that :D
Chapter Thirty Five: Tart, Slapper, Cow, ETC.
"Oh HEEEEY there Chloe! How are you? Love the nose job, is that Doctor Leroy's work?" Alaska said with a false cheery smile spread across her face. Sandy let out a laugh that sounding more like a war cry as she suddenly silenced herself by covering her mouth with her hands, but continued to snigger as they both turned towards Chloe. The blonde's eyes were nearly sticking out of her head in shock, and Alaska was trying her best to keep the smile up despite the fact she was ready to burst into giggles as well. Standing behind them was the usual shocked and stupid looking film crew, alongside Damian and Lachlan, who were hurrying over with equally surprised looks. There was a building in the background and the sound of rushing water around them, but Alaska was more focussed on the furious looking Chloe looming before her.
"YOU!" She bellowed again. "What are you whores doing here?"
"Excuse me? We're the whores?" Alaska tutted. "Who was ready and waiting to spread her legs for the first guy in our year that was able to get one up, you selfish little –,"
"Alaska," Damian interrupted as he appeared before them, looking casual in a tight shirt and jeans that resembled Alaska's own. "Why don't we change things up a bit and just both carry on our individual journeys, alright?"
"NO!" Chloe snarled furiously. "Look at what that psychotic bitch did to my nose?"
"What did she do? It looks the same as always," Sandy snapped, and Alaska turned and gave her an approving nod at the comeback. Chloe snarled but at the same time self consciously touched her nose, which was bound with tape and looked rather inflamed after its meeting with Paige's beak. Lachlan appeared alongside as well, looking a tad more breathless than Damian did, at the same time the four Pokemon made their way forwards as well.
"Look, she even already has some Pokemon out!" Chloe snapped, smiling widely as she grabbed her own PokeBall. "Come on Alaska, let's see how well you fair against me this time!" Alaska sighed as she got to her feet, though instantly regretted at as she forgot about the fact she no longer had a cane to lean on. Sandy swooped in though to cover this up, standing close to her and slyly propping her right shoulder under Alaska's left armpit to help balance her.
"Chloe, I would love to battle you and crush you for the… fourth time? Fifth? I've lost count it's been so many, but I really don't have time for this," Alaska purred with a sweet smile. "I don't even know where we have just arrived at, how we arrived or why we arrived, and I would like to solve these questions before I have any more dealings with the likes of you." Chloe looked frustrated at this, but Alaska wanted to keep moving and didn't care about the reality stars at the moment: she needed to find out where they were and how to move on to the next gym.
"What is this place exactly?" Alaska asked, turning around to take in the views. As well as the cliffs looming over them from all sides, Alaska could see that they were standing in the middle of a rather large field of neatly trimmed green grass. It surrounded them as much as the cliffs did, and it seemed to stretch on forever. A sparkling blue river cut between the mountains and the field, moving so quickly that Alaska wasn't quite sure what direction it was moving in, but the beautiful water was rather entrancing. She became almost absorbed in staring towards it, wondering if it was from here that Suicune had unleashed them into this tense situation, or if they had somehow moved through the rocky cliffs around them.
"This is the Power Plant," Lachlan explained. "Haven't you been here before?"
"Oh please, Alaska can't even afford to walk across the road," Chloe said with a catty smile, though Alaska ignored the jibe as she turned towards the building she'd seen before. It was a towering structure that looked a lot like a mansion or a castle, except it was made out of metal, glass and the concrete was painted blue to match the river. It was a very modern building that could easily pass for a flash business headquarters, and Alaska was actually rather impressed to show up here.
"Hang on a second… I thought the Power Plant was in ruins?" Alaska asked.
"It was for a long time, but I think they decided to rebuild it when something to do with Team Rocket caused the old building to complete collapse and they decided to rebuild," Sandy explained in her ear, and suddenly an excited look spread across her face. "Ooooh, why don't we go in and have a look around? I hear that they use Electric Pokemon to help at power plants: I could get some information on caring for my Pichu when it finally hatches!"
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Alaska said with a shrug. In reality, she didn't really want to spend time in a power plant when her Pokemon needed training, but she didn't want to upset Sandy any more by upsetting her. "You lot up for a fun adventure into the fascinating world of electricity?"
"Pidgeotto Pidge Pidgey," Paige said sarcastically, and Alaska merely laughed as they made to move forwards, Butterfree, Frances and Nadia already moving ahead. However, they had barely taken two steps before Chloe appeared before her.
"You can't go in there Alaska, it isn't public access!" Chloe snapped, a smug look spreading across her face. Alaska glared back at her and began to ready a comeback, but Damian moved over once again to settle the two.
"She is telling the truth," he said assertively. "Amanda has to go in and sign some paperwork before we go in, and we're just doing some shots and interviews out here. This area is open to everyone though, and you can get around by simply surfing up the river."
"Oh of course, how simple!" Alaska said sarcastically with a smile to match, turning towards Sandy. "Say Alexandra, why don't we send Onix up and Surf up on the river on his back? Isn't that a smashing idea?"
"Well, to be fair, with his height, he could very well –,"
"Shush," Alaska said sternly before turning back to the stars before her. "I don't care what the 'rules' are: I've just spent several days in hospital after nearly getting blown up twice in two days and now have a very sore leg, so I don't really have time to waste away signing paperwork just to get to the other side."
"They have Electabuzz guards, I wouldn't go in if I was you," Lachlan warned.
"Electabuzz, eh?" Alaska asked with raised eyebrows. "Why don't you go ask Lt. Surge about our gym battle while he repairs the holes I left in his walls and then try and warn me about Electabuzz." Sandy let out another laugh, and Damian and Lachlan merely exchanged looks and shrugs before standing aside. Alaska did a false curtsey before limping forwards with her weight mostly on Sandy, trying her best to remain calm and avoid eye contact with them.
"They look really pissed with you," Sandy whispered as they walked away.
"Don't you think I realise this?" Alaska hissed back with her mouth barely moving, watching as their heads turned to watch them as they walked away. It was not comfortable being around any of them, especially not Chloe and her lust to defeat Alaska and get revenge, and she simply wanted to get away. She would love the chance to defeat Chloe once more, but Alaska needed to focus on her proper journey: all the explosions and injuries had hindered her travels and prevented her from properly training her Pokemon, and she needed to work on the various issues her team had. And then Alaska wanted to sit down and talk with Sandy and discuss what had happened back in the tunnel, just to make sure the air was clear before they moved on.
However, the two had barely moved three metres before someone appeared who seemed to have a different idea on their plans.
"Alright you lot, those stuck up nerds have finally given us the go ahead," Amanda Anderson yelled as she strutted out from the Power Plant, staring down at the forms she clutched in her hands, unaware of who was waiting in front of her. Alaska and Sandy came to a halt in an attempt to not draw attention to themselves, but the tense silence that covered the field was enough to draw the producer's eyes upwards.
Alaska wasn't quite sure what to make of the look at the time. She had been expecting the producer to come across as angry or furious like she had previously been at the girl that continued to ruin her production, and that was something Alaska probably wouldn't have minded as she really didn't want to see her either. However, she wasn't expecting the initial look across Amanda's usually blank face: her eyes had bulged and her jaw had dropped in surprise, and the forms she held nearly fell to the ground. Alaska wasn't sure why Amanda looked so surprised, but the completely shocked look was enough to freeze both of them in their tracks.
"Wh-wha-what are you d-doing h-here?" The producer stammered, her usual strict and organised composure thrown out by the sudden appearance of Alaska and Sandy. Alaska was still trying to work out why she was so shocked as the stars ran forwards, Chloe looking close to bursting with excitement.
"These two just suddenly appeared on the grass a few minutes ago, but they don't even know where they are or why they are here!" She explained, grinning at the two with a devilishly happy smile. "And now they can't get away because they don't have a Pokemon that could Surf, boo hoo!" Chloe added with a sneer, keeping the delighted smile on her face for the whole time.
"Oh bite me," Alaska snapped. "We are just going to walk right through the Power Plant, and there is nothing you can do about it!"
"Well, actually Alaska, you can't legally walk through the Power Plant unless you have been authorized," Lachlan reminded her, though he fell silent after having a glare thrown in his direction. Alaska was rather annoyed at arriving in an area infested with the stars, and even more so that she seemingly couldn't escape. Amanda straightened the papers in her hands and looked up with a snobby look back on her face: her surprised reaction had been a shock, but the producer was ignoring it and getting back to her usual demeanour.
"Lachlan is very correct Miss Acevedo," Amanda said rapidly with acid seeping through every word, "this is a very prestigious, important and private building, not some amusement park you can just wander through at your own accord! As much as we always have fun whenever we meet, you are going to have to stay here until you find a way to get back to public land." And with that, Amanda turned and beckoned for her stars to follow without another word. Alaska rolled her eyes and mentally groaned in annoyance: she should have just kept on walking and not cared about what they said, but now they were going to be stuck here for who knows how long. At least if they had landed back in Diglett's Cave she would be having a nice little rest right now.
"Wait!" A shout suddenly rang out, and all eyes turned as Damian moved between the two groups. "Amanda, what if we let them fight for their right to go through the plant?" Alaska was rather taken aback by this, and it appeared that all the stars and the crew were surprised as well.
"Whatever do you mean Damian?" Amanda asked in what she must have thought was a sweet voice, but it had the tone and bitterness that implied he should have just shut up.
"Well, we always end up battling them anyway, so why don't we make it a more fair competition this time?" Damian suggested. "We are doing some challenge in the plant, so let's let the two compete alongside us, and if one of them wins, they are allowed to leave the plant with us?"
"Oh yes, that actually sounds fun!" Sandy said, beaming brightly at the idea. Alaska, however, was less certain: she had never quite worked out Damian, not sure if he was part of the brainless reality stars or had a kind soul within. Darwin had nearly killed his Charmander last time they met, so what if it was all part of an elaborate revenge plan, or was he really just concerned about them making it out of the area?
"Can we do this?" Chloe asked excitedly. "I want the chance to cream Alaska when our cameras are actually rolling!" Amanda was looking rather uncomfortable, another expression Alaska had never seen her use before, and could see the producer was rapidly thinking things through.
"Alright, fine!" She huffed, looking rather annoyed, and pointed an accusing finger towards Alaska. "However, this is the LAST time we will ever cross paths! From now on, we will do our best to avoid each other, agreed?"
"I couldn't be happier with the arrangement," Alaska said with a sarcastic smile. Sandy and Chloe both looked rather happy with this, while Damian merely looked across at Alaska and gave her a half smile and a nod. She wasn't sure what this was supposed to mean and ignored him, turning back towards her Pokemon instead.
"Ready for a challenge?" She asked, and Paige, Nadia and Butterfree all nodded in agreement. Alaska was glad they were happy about the situation, as she would rather have just sat down and had a discussion about things for a moment: why had Amanda looked so shocked, and why had Suicune sent them here? Why had Suicune even appeared in the first place? Alaska had more pressing issues to deal with then vengeful reality stars, but a competition could be the chance to train her Pokemon that she had been looking for, and if it was going to get them moving once more, than Alaska was happy for the chance.
Sorry for the rather slow and uneventful chapter: it was a bit of a struggle to write a relatively boring chapter, so also sorry on the delay. The last three chapters of this arc will be very exciting though, so stay tuned for them to arrive hopefully sooner rather than later :D
I just finished chapter 34 I still have 35 to read but i wanted to do a quick post. First of all I'm glad that you focused on expanding Alaska's and Sandy's friendship as well as Sandy's past. However I feel like chapter 34 lacked a little bit I'm not saying it was bad it's just that I didn't like the fact that most of the chapter was about falling also I think you should space your paragraphs a little more but that's just a suggestion.
Also I actually like it when the Reality Stars appear xD it gives us a lot of comedy and it's the reason Alaska left on her journey to begin with so you don't have to worry about people not liking it.
What do you mean by spacing out the paragraphs more? I am not going to unnecessarily double space between lines or anything, but thanks for the suggestion. Glad you like the chapter and the reality stars, though it is funny: everyone complained about them appearing too often, yet now they are all in love with them :P
All right I caught up once more and now I can say that I'm expecting a lot out of this competition xD you probably already have this planned out and stuff but I would for one suggest having Alaska lose just to keep things even. Also I didn't say this in my last post but Sandy has just become one of my favorite characters mostly because we kind of have a similar past.
You'll just have to wait and see what the result is ;) However, Alaska losing to the reality stars I feel would make her strive to try and beat them again, and I want her to focus upon her journey at hand and the issues in her team, but I can promise a different result. And I am glad but at the same time sorry you relate to Sandy: I have always seen her as more relatable and has more aspects of me in her than Alaska does :P
Well everyone has had those moments in which you just don't know how other people expect you to act and just have to shut up about it sadly.
@WinterVines @Alaskapigeon
Chapter Thirty Six: Alaska Acevedo and the Electric Factory
Despite all the other surprises that had occurred that day, Alaska couldn't help but be taking aback when they stepped into the Power Plant.
It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, or a dystopian novel about a controlling government, but Alaska would rather stick with the lighter thought. It was world that was sparkling white and encased in metal and glass: the tiles blended into the wall, the only thing separating the entire interior from looking like a futuristic winter wonderland being the large amount of technology spread about. No matter what direction Alaska turned, there was some sort of computer or monitor or hard drive built into the wall, a coated technician staring towards the screen as their fingers rapidly typed or touched around.
The more they moved inside, the more Alaska became engrossed by the architectural beauty of the building. Dozens of walkways loomed overhead, made entirely of glass that made it look as if the people moving across and between floors were walking on thin air. Beautiful views were provided of the rushing river, the surrounding cliffs, the fields of green. It was an attractive view that could easily take your mind of the whirr of turbines and the moan of machinery that surrounded them, though none of the people working them seemed to have any free time to look at the amazing view outside. Despite the modern glitz and glamour the new Power Plant possessed, it was still just another workplace for some people no matter what it looked like.
"Isn't this place amazing?" Sandy whispered in Alaska's eye as the two walked side by side, Alaska still have to lean on her friend for support.
"It is a pretty impressive building," Alaska replied, voicing her thoughts aloud, "but I'm beginning to wonder what challenge possibly could have been set up for us in a power plant." She turned back towards the Amanda and the reality stars, who were all leading the way past doors to glass walled offices and hundreds more monitors and the scientists working there. Andy, the tour guide who usually led school and press trips, was walking alongside Amanda talking animatedly to her about the building as he led them to their area, though Alaska wondered if she even truly cared, simply smiling and nodding as the producer thought of how to get rid of the new pest on her trip. There was no shaking the rather surprising look Amanda had worn when she had first set eyes on them only a few minutes ago, and Alaska was trying her best to work out what it could mean but drawing no possible ideas asides from her being surprised to see them, though this look was a lot more than simply being shocked.
"Alright everyone," Andy called from the front, clapping his hands together excitedly. "We're now at your super special location for your challenge! I hope you are all excited to see what's behind this door," he said with a mega watt beam, but he didn't get the overly excited reaction he'd usually get from children and disappointedly turned to the door. Once his back was turned, Amanda turned around to face Alaska: she had a slight smirk on her face, clearly knowing what was on the other side and clearly intrigued to see how she would react. Alaska merely smiled back, not even going to give her any reason to be excited. The stars turned around once they caught Amanda's face, seeing how Alaska would react: Chloe was smirking as well, clearly excited for the chance to show her up, while Lachlan remained his usual uncertain self. But Alaska's eyes were drawn towards Damian, who was looking at her with a sense of worry that he always seemed to have. She never knew why he always looked at her in this rather sad, serious way, and it somehow made her more uncomfortable than the rest of them put together, though that was uncertain as well.
"Move along," the cameraman grunted behind her, and Alaska realised the door ahead had been unlocked, Amanda following Andy inside. Sandy smiled happily at Alaska as she led them forwards, heading towards the doorway and unaware what would await them on the other side.
"What makes you so sure this is going to go well?" Alaska hissed quietly as Damian disappeared through with one last glance back at them.
"Optimism is something I'm very good at," Sandy replied with a wink, and Alaska couldn't help but smile back: despite all that had apparently happened in her life, Sandy managed to keep a smile on her face for most of the day, and Alaska had to admire that in someone who had nearly been killed about five times since meeting her.
But all happy thoughts left her mind as they entered the cavernous room before them.
It seemed that one part of the building's design was a brilliant amount of soundproofing: though the roar of the turbines and generators that made all of this power could be heard, it was more of a distant sound as if it was coming from outside or the other side of the mountains. You almost wouldn't even know that they were even part of the building and simply carry on with your business, unaware of what lay below.
But stepping through that door shattered that vision. Alaska froze at the top of the stairs, staring at the scene before her: there was about three generators the size of her house moving rapidly before her eyes, so many cables the width of a human body coming off them that it would make Lt. Surge faint in surprise. It was a lot darker and much less nicely designed down here, with the walls mostly concrete and the walkways here bits of metal attached together in a relatively odd manner.
"Wow… just wow…," Alaska mumbled as the camera crew pushed past the two, the doors swinging shut behind them and letting out a clang that echoed above the noise of the generators. It seemed straight out of a science textbook on energy: the large room that must go below the ground, with scientists and technicians examining charts and older computers. This seemed like a rather interesting place for a challenge, but Alaska couldn't help but glance towards the giant whirring generators, knowing how much energy and electricity they must have inside and what exactly that challenge would be.
"Isn't this place so amazing?" Sandy said as Alaska moved, signalling for her to help her hobble down the ringing metal staircase. "To think that there is where the majority of energy in Kanto comes from! Just look at those cables! Think of all the possible places that that power is travelling to!"
"I'd rather focus on the possibilities down here," Alaska mumbled back as they reached the bottom of the staircase, where a technician passed them over an orange coat, yellow hard hat and safety goggles. Alaska would never be seen dead in such a fluorescent, sun-darkening shade of orange elsewhere, but thought it best to stick to the rules rather than be kicked out: as much as she felt uncertain about being near three high powered generators with Amanda, she was intrigued all the same to see where it went.
"Good to see you two join us!" Andy called, ever enthusiastic despite the mixed faces before him. "Now, I know your challenge is meant to be a big surprise for the camera, but we just need to go over some safety issues! Your are all wearing these jackets and hard hats because this is a very high voltage area due to the three power generators around us and the many moving underground to –,"
"How are hard hats going to protect us if one of these things blows up?" Alaska asked with a sweet smile, and the tour guide stopped in his tracks, thrown by the question. Amanda turned towards her and shot an eye bulging look, but Alaska ignored it and winked across at a shocked Chloe.
"Your challenge is to somehow get a flag that is up on the walkway," Andy continued, his only sign of the interruption being a slight loss of enthusiasm. "You can use two Pokemon, and they are only ones that can get up there. This can be achieved in any way, but you MUST make sure not to cause any damage to any of the equipment!" He said, looking a lot more serious now. "These generators and cables cost millions of dollars, but any sort of damage could result in a loss of power for any numbers of areas around Kanto and some locations in Johto. It took a lot of convincing to allow you to even come this far, so let's try and stay away from damaging any important equipment, alright?"
"If you damage anything, you will receive the bill," Amanda added, staring wide-eyed over at Alaska. Alaska tried to ignore the look, but she couldn't help but turn towards the whirring generators before them, knowing that anything being damaged would not end well for here, and that Amanda would probably find a way to blame any damage onto her.
"If we are all aware of the rules, than let's get ready to battle!" Andy said, clapping his hands and sounding enthusiastic once more. Amanda nodded and walked before him, basically shoving him out of the group now that his services were no longer required.
"Since we have yet a-a-another bother in our group," Amanda said, trying to stay calm but letting a stutter come in as she glared over at Alaska and Sandy, "we will do all of our filming after the challenge has been completed and we see who the winner is. Now choose the two Pokemon you will use in this challenge, w-we need to get started! Move along!" She snapped, turning away from everyone and strutting away, her high heels echoing around them. Chloe pulled Damian and Lachlan into a whispered conversation, leaving Alaska and Sandy alone as the crew set things up for the shoot.
"That's odd," Sandy mumbled to Sandy. "Have you ever heard her stutter before?"
"No, she is usually quite sure of herself," Alaska replied in a whisper, but paused before she said anymore, a distant memory rushing back to her. "Wait a second…," she hissed. "The first time I met her she stuttered, and I arrived unexpectedly then as well." On that first day of all their journeys, Alaska could remember Amanda's slight stutter, the producer thrown back when this new trainer arrived at the Viridian City Trainer's House and threw a spanner into the works. She had never stuttered again, almost as if Alaska appearing again wasn't a big surprise, but today Amanda had been thrown: combined with the overly surprised look, something was telling Alaska the producer had never expected to see her again.
"Why aren't they filming now either?" Sandy asked as the two grabbed PokeBalls they had only put away a few minutes ago, not allowed to strut them through the Power Plant above. "Do you think they are waiting to do something to us and then film once we're out of the way? Gosh Alaska, I'm starting to get scared!"
"You got us in this mess remember, so don't start complaining!" Alaska said with a slight glare. "However, I do think something's up: that's not exactly new when it comes to my thoughts on these people, but Amanda seems slightly odd today." Sandy raised a questioning eyebrow, but Alaska shook her head, eyeing the reality trio nearby. "I will stick to my promise, don't worry, but I'm not telling you here!" She stared pointedly at the trio, and Sandy made a rather loud 'aah' sound and nodded. The trio turned around, Chloe looking rather suspicious, but Alaska distracted them by unleashing two PokeBalls, sending Paige and Nadia.
"Ran Ran Nido Ran Ran!" Nadia said, beginning to run around excitedly yet with her normal vicious look on her face. Paige flexed her wings as if she had been cooped up for a while, looking around the wide open space with her look getting progressively grimmer.
"Otto Pidgey Pidge?" She said with a glare, and Alaska couldn't blame her: with the amount of electricity around them, it made the Vermilion Gym look like a static balloon.
"Just trust me on this," Alaska said as Butterfree and Bellsprout formed around Sandy. "I know that this looks hard, but all you have to do is fly up and get a flag off a walkway… I think," Alaska replied, staring uncertainly up at the metal above: now that she thought of it, she wasn't exactly sure what to do. Some men were moving swiftly along above as if they had many times before, placing a flag in the middle of the path. What exactly was their true intention when it came to this challenge? Were they supposed to collect the flag and be the only ones to bring it down? Were Amanda and Andy being deliberately vague on the rules in order to cause some confusion amongst her and Sandy? Alaska looked down at Paige, who merely looked grumpier at Alaska's uncertainty, while Nadia continued to run around eagerly.
"Let's just go with the flow," Alaska replied with a smile, and Paige rolled her eyes.
"Alright everyone, it's time to space out!" Andy called happily. "We have rolled a die, and Chloe is to stand directly in the middle, Lachlan and Damian on either side and Alaska and Sandy at each end."
"How subtle," Alaska mumbled, and she gave Sandy, Butterfree and Bellsprout a recurring smile before turning around, ready to head to her spot. However, she froze in shock, staring directly into one of the largest and more unattractive faces she'd ever encountered: it had a look that was both angry and pouty, with large lips, furious eyes and a blue crest that made its face look fierce. Alaska wasn't quite sure what to make of this head that was the same height as her, and looked around for some advice.
"I see you've met Gyarados," Damian said suddenly, emerging around the side and smirking. Alaska was still stunned and confused, and Damian pulled a blue PokeDex out. "Gyarados, Magikarp's evolved form? Have you never heard of it?" Alaska stared down at the computerized image just as the Gyarados manoeuvred around, showing his very long, almost segmented body, blue on the top and cream on the bottom, with fins showing its Water-type properties.
"Nice Pokemon," Alaska mumbled, looking down to see Paige was more obvious with showing her surprise at the very large Pokemon, while Nadia seemed to be contemplating how to defeat the beast before it. "I take it that this may have come from that fun fishing challenge I intruded in on?"
"Your right there," Damian said, still smiling. "It wasn't too hard to level Magikarp up: some clever switching and constantly winning against Chloe was quite handy in getting both Pokemon evolved." Alaska raised an eyebrow as they moved to the right of Chloe, but her question was answered as a mostly red Pokemon walked forwards, looking like a bigger, scarier Charmander, complete with sharper claws, longer tail and a point on his head.
"Charmeleon Char Char!" Charmeleon said, his voice reminding Alaska of an old smoker that use to live next door to her.
"Congratulations than, I think," Alaska said, moving onto a point marked out by Andy, Damian on her left and all their Pokemon moving in front of them. "I've been trying to train my Paras and Nadia here up, but I've been a bit occupied with other things that I haven't had the chance." Damian nodded, and Alaska was taken aback by this: it had been a long time since she had spoken about herself and not been asked a hundred questions about her life. It was a rather refreshing change, and she couldn't help but stare back at the reality star in an all new light, stunned to be having a proper conversation with a normal person for once.
"Alright, are we all in position?" Amanda called. Alaska turned away from Damian and glanced down towards Sandy, who had her determined face on as she stood alongside Lachlan with his Geodude and Wartortle, Squirtle's evolved form that, like Charmeleon, merely looked like a larger form of his predecessor. Chloe was the only one with no evolved Pokemon on her team, her Bulbasaur and Spearow dwarfed as Gyarados floated above them. "Excellent. Now, your task is to collect the flag from the walkway above, using your two Pokemon to do so, and you must get it back and to the top of the stairs we came down. You must protect the flag once you have it, as anyone else may take it, and be on the look out for any surprises along the way."
"Surprises?" Lachlan asked, sounding a touch nervous. "What do you mean by surprises?" Amanda's face twisted into an uncomfortable looking smile, flashing a set of almost pointed teeth to the crowd before her, and though her head was turned to Lachlan, Alaska caught her eyes flickering towards her.
"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see Mr Lynch," she replied, a hint of laughter behind her words. "Just wait and see." This wasn't particularly settling, and Alaska looked down at Paige, the Pidgeotto looking more concerned than annoyed now. "You have five minutes to complete this challenge, so let the games begin!" Amanda called, and quickly leapt out of the way.
"We're starting already?" Alaska asked, rather surprised, but got no response from Damian: he was already calling out his orders, sending Charmeleon onto Gyarados' back. Chloe's Spearow was hooking her claws into Bulbasaur's back, and Geodude was picking Wartortle up, his long wavy tail and stubby limbs retracting inside the shell. "I guess we're starting then…" she mumbled, eyeing Amanda as she and Andy rushed away, the camera crew moving closer to catch images of the trio commanding their teams. "Nadia, let's just go with the flow and have you on Paige's back, alright?"
"Ran Ran Ran!" The Nidoran said, leaping onto her teammates back before Paige had time to notice. The wind was knocked out of her and her eyes bulged, and Alaska couldn't help but laugh. She really didn't care about the competition and frankly didn't care if she won or not: her attention was on her team getting better, and if Paige and Nadia worked well together, than this long and irritating day would be worth it.
The laughter stopped as the generators exploded behind her.
I'll be the first to say it: I am not a big fan of this chapter, or a lot of this arc to be frank. My schoolwork is getting in the way and I'm not getting the proper time to focus on my writing like I get during the holidays, when I can just write for hours and have a clear, focussed idea. I apologise for the drop of quality that I feel has occurred, and that it has been relatively boring so far, but the last two chapters of this arc will hopefully turn things around with a lot of action and fighting, both Pokemon and human ;) So hang on till the next two parts, which should turned things around!
Chapter Thirty Seven: How to Piss off Kanto in One Very Easy Step
Screams and sounds of surprise sounded throughout the open room as three jets of fire rose up from each of the generators. Alaska stared in shock, watching as the fire shot up metres into the air and wondered how on earth this could have possibly happened. However, as suddenly as they had appeared, the fire sank back down towards the generators, and it became clear that they were not damaged at all. The stunned reality stars and their shocked Pokemon looked towards a black cylinder on top of each machine, red burning beneath the metal.
"What is this?" Alaska asked, breaking the shocked silence that had arisen since the sudden burst of flames. She turned towards where Amanda was standing with her lips curled up into a smile only a few metres away, the explosion not startling her in the slightest. "Did you do this? Is this part of the challenge?" Amanda glanced over at Alaska, her smile only getting wider at this, and Alaska knew simply from that look that she'd gotten involved in something bigger than she'd expected by agreeing to this challenge.
"Miss Acevedo, we do not reveal the surprises we have planned for our competitions to the contestants," Amanda replied in her most perfectly clipped voice. "I think you should focus on the challenge ahead and see what comes up: Chloe, Damian and Lachlan can handle whatever we set them, so I think you can as well."
"I am sure I can," Alaska replied with a smile wide enough to match the producers, and the two stared at each other with their grinning faces and steely eyed expressions for several seconds, trying to outlast the other. There was no denying the hatred between the two, but Alaska was still trying to work out why the producer dispised her so much: her reactions and attitudes around her hinted that there was more to her rage than simply interrupting a television show, but Alaska couldn't quite figure it out.
Another burst of flames knocked her back into reality, and Alaska turned back towards the scene before her: Paige, Butterfree, Gyarados and Spearow were taking off once more, Nadia, Bellsprout, Charmeleon and Bulbasaur all on their backs. The flames were rising higher than before, forcing the Pokemon to move around to avoid the obstacle, and Alaska was impressed with Paige's quick skill at avoiding becoming roasted.
"Keep up the good work!" Alaska called, watching eagerly as Paige swooped up vertically, Nadia having to dig her claws in to stay tight. Her initial worries and concerns were put aside now that the challenge was properly underway, the Pokemon all flying around trying to avoid the fire that burnt nearby and their competitors. Only Wartortle and Geodude remained on solid ground, and Alaska felt the same feeling of competition and began thinking up a battle strategy that she might have experienced in a gym battle.
"I bet this is pretty intense for a first time," Damian said alongside her. Alaska glanced over and nodded, not wanting to take her eyes off the scene as Paige and Gyarados seemed to tied to reach the walkway. "I wouldn't let it be too overwhelming: sometimes they can be really tough, but than the rest of the time –,"
"I appreciate the help, but in the past week, I've dealt with collapsing bridges, multiple explosions and a brain switching, so I think I can handle whatever this show has to offer," Alaska replied with a sarcastic smile, but instantly felt a touch of guilt as Damian looked affronted. She groaned and clutched her head, trying to ignore the annoying 'bang' the flame cylinders made every time they started up. "I am sorry, I know you're just trying to help, but I am just really annoyed with all that has happened to me lately, and I kind of just want to get this over."
"I can tell," Damian said with a kind smile. "These challenges can get pretty irritating as we do so many, and being thrust into one like this can't really be fun. They get easier over time though."
"Hopefully I never have to experience that," Alaska replied, and Damian laughed. She looked the reality star up and down, staring at his plain blue shirt and denim jeans, and wondered what had sent him down this path. Alaska turned towards Lachlan, who was staring determinedly up at the walkway above, and wondered his motivations as well. Chloe had always seemed like the person likely to become to a front page tabloid darling, and this show was right up her alley, but even after all these meetings, Alaska had no idea what had made Damian and Lachlan join the show.
"Spearow, use Secret Power on Paige, go!" The order rang out through the relatively silent floor, and Alaska was dragged out of her thoughts as she turned around the source of the voice: Chloe was standing with her hands pointed dramatically in the air, the camera crew focussed on her as she gave the order. Once they got the shot they wanted, Chloe turned towards Alaska with the same smile she used whenever she got away with bullying someone at school.
"The little bitch," Alaska hissed, turning away before her anger gave her nemesis any more joy. She looked up at the scene above where the Flying Pokemon were all moving towards the walkway that seemed higher above than she'd expected, and watched in horror as the brown and red feathered Spearow floated towards Paige.
"ROW ROW ROW!" She squawked, and a beam of yellow formed in her open beak. Paige was too focussed on getting up towards the flag before Gyarados did, and had no idea as the attack was fired towards her.
"LOOK OUT!" Alaska cried, but it was too late: the Secret Power struck Paige's tail feathers, exploding and sending her and Nadia spinning up towards the roof. Everyone turned around to have a look at what had happened, and Gyarados and Butterfree stopped moving for a moment, stunned by the attack. Chloe merely laughed, the path now clear for Spearow to go ahead with Bulbasaur.
"Dirty cheating little whore!" Alaska hissed. She couldn't believe that Chloe had just done that, or that she had gotten away with it as Amanda merely stood there smirking to herself, glancing up towards the confused scene above. Any decent gym leader wouldn't let such a sneaky attack go through, nor one so dangerous around the high powered electricity above, and knew that Chloe needed a taste of her own medicine.
"Quick Attack and Poison Sting, go!" Alaska yelled, hoping the two Pokemon were still able to fight. There was no sign of movement near the ceiling, and while Butterfree and Gyarados were moving once more, it was still clear for Spearow to reach the flag first, no one near enough to stop her…
"PIDGEY!" The shrill cry echoed all around, and Alaska silently cheered as white flash high above, and suddenly Paige was rocketing down towards the walkway. Spearow was nearing the flag, Bulbasaur ready to extend a vine and grab it as they passed, and now it was their turn not to notice the attack coming there way.
"OTTO!" Paige yelled as she drove directly into Spearow, smashing the Flying type against the railing as Bulbasaur was thrown off. Nadia leapt off before Bulbasaur had even landed on the path, and instantly purple poisonous stings were being fired from her mouth towards the Seed Pokemon.
"Keep it up!" Alaska shouted. "Take Down Bulbasaur and Aerial Ace Spearow!" Chloe turned angrily towards Alaska and let out an angry cry, but Alaska merely glanced over and smiled back to her. "You're the one that started this, so you'd better be prepared to finish it."
"Oh don't worry, I am!" Chloe hissed. "Bulbasaur use Headbutt, and Spearow counter with your Aerial Ace!" The two sets of Pokemon initiated their attacks, Paige and Spearow flying towards each other with glowing wings while Nadia and Bulbasaur charged towards each other. Alaska looked at the flag lying ignored next to them, but didn't really care about that at the moment: she wanted Chloe to be taught a lesson, and defeating her in her own field would do just that.
"Don't get caught up in this fight again," Damian hissed in Alaska's ear as the three flamethrowers set off again. "If you win this challenge than that will piss them off more than just fighting again."
"I'm not the star of this show, you are," Alaska hissed back, not taking her eyes off her duelling Pokemon. "You win and get whatever the prizes are going to be, and I'll just try and win my own little tournament, alright? Besides, your Pokemon are nearly there anyway," Alaska said, and pointed up to the flag. Gyarados had swooped past the walkway, allowing Charmeleon to leap on to a side clear of any warring Pokemon, and was closely followed by Sandy's Bellsprout.
"Confusion Butterfree!" Sandy called, and Damian gasped as the Butterfly Pokemon swooped down in front of Charmeleon, her eyes glowing pink. Charmeleon halted where he stood and stared around, clearly dazed as to where he was, and allowed Bellsprout to move around with her long, skinny legs moving oddly as she tried to run.
"Great strategy Sandy!" Alaska shouted out, and turned to see her friend smile brightly back to her and give her a thumbs up. Alaska looked back at Damian, who was looking rather annoyed and smirked again. "You have to admit, it was a pretty good idea."
"Possibly," Damian said with an annoyed look in his eyes, but his face softened after a few moments. "We'll just have to try harder than, won't we? Gyarados, keep Butterfree from helping Bellsprout!" The giant flying sea-serpent nodded and swung his long body around, nearly knocking Butterfree out of the sky. The Bug type had to fly quickly out of the way, and was forced to keep moving as Gyarados continued to swing his body around. However, Bellsprout still seemed to have a clear run at getting the flag: Charmeleon was too confused to move, and Alaska and Chloe's Pokemon were fighting too much to notice. Alaska knew that Sandy could do with the boost that would come with winning this challenge.
However, everything changed with a single.
"NOW!" Lachlan suddenly shouted, and all eyes turned towards him. Everyone had forgotten about him and his unmoving Pokemon in all the drama occurring high above, but now everyone watched as Geodude lifted Wartortle's shell into the air, the Turtle Pokemon's head and limbs tucked safely inside, and began to spin around. No one was quite sure what this was going to do, but as Bellsprout reached out towards the brightly coloured flag that lay before him, Geodude stopped spinning and let go.
"Oh my!" Andy gasped dramatically, and this pretty much summed the general reaction up: Wartortle was sent spinning through the air like a rocket, covering a distance in half the time it had taken the Flying Pokemon. Butterfree and Gyarados turned around in shock, and even Paige and Nadia spared a glance as their opponents were left breathless behind them.
"Sprout Bell Bell!" Bellsprout cried happily, unaware of the incoming Pokemon, and happily moved towards the flag with her vine-like arms reaching out to grab it. However, just as she was about to grab it, there was a whoosh and she froze: Wartortle spun over the bar and rose another metre before curving back down. Now all the Pokemon were watching as the Water type came back down to the walkway, head, arms, legs and tail all coming out to help him land perfectly, right next to the flag.
"Tortle War!" Wartortle announced, puffing out the softer part of his chest and smiling at all the other Pokemon, but no one smiled back. It was as if Paige, Nadia, Bulbasaur and Spearow had only just realised they had been so close to the flag this whole time, and it also seemed they were only noticing the other Pokemon around them for the first time as well.
There was a moment of silence, all the Pokemon coming to some degree of halt, nothing moving except for the flag of the wings. Their eyes darted from the flag in between them all to the other Pokemon surrounding them, and they, along with their trainers, tried to think of the most sensible and strategic way to defeat them all and grab that flag.
That moment didn't last long.
"BELL!" Bellsprout shouted angrily, frustrated that her chances of winning had been snatched from right beneath her, and she swung her arms around. A shocked and surprised Wartortle was sent crashing against the railing by the powerful strike, and this seemed to be the call for the other Pokemon to charge forwards as well: Butterfree and Gyarados flew side by side, Charmeleon snapped out of his confusion and took off with glowing silver claws, and Alaska and Chloe's Pokemon took off alongside each other, exchanging more moves as they neared the flag. The jets of flame continued to rise up, but no one paid any attention as they focussed on the scramble of Pokemon on the walkway above.
"Tell your Pokemon to be careful!" Andy cried, staring up at the walkway in horror. "All this commotion could cause it to collapse!" This idea seemed unlikely at first, but a creak and a clang echoed around, and Alaska glanced towards the walls: the metal did seem to be weakening in the middle where all the Pokemon were congregating, the nuts and bolts along the way struggling to hold up their weights.
"The clock is ticking everyone," Amanda called shrilly; "we don't have all day to play this game!" Everyone became tenser as this, trying to think of how to succeed at this challenge, but their thoughts were interrupted as Chloe let an angry screech that rose up in her throat, everyone turning towards her. It was the cry Chloe always used at school on the rare occasions she didn't get her way, and Alaska was pleased to see her get so annoyed.
"Just push them over the sides!" She yelled. "Who cares about their Pokemon, just getting the fricking flag!" Her voice echoed, loud enough to drown out the shouts and cries coming from above, and it was easy for everyone to hear the command.
"Calm down Chloe, it's just a contest!" Lachlan said, rolling his eyes down at Geodude.
"This is more than just a contest!" Chloe snapped, turning towards him with her face screwed up. "I have to win this one whether any of you like it or not, so just back off and let me play it my way! Bulbasaur, Spearow, I DON'T SEE ANY POKEMON FALLING!"
The nine Pokemon on or around the walkway could all hear the shouting, but they were all too focussed on getting the flag to care, with Charmeleon clawing at anyone who came near him, Nadia firing Poison Stings off into the air, and Bellsprout's flailing Vine Whips stopping anyone from getting near. Paige and Spearow were locked in a battle of wings, unwilling to stop until the other was out of the way, and it was clear they were both getting tired from the fighting. Chloe's words were still ringing in their ears, and Spearow was willing to do anything to fufill her master's orders.
"SPEAROOOO!" She cried, knocking Paige backwards behind the railings with an Aerial Ace. The Bird Pokemon flapped her wings furiously, readying to come backwards, and it was then that Spearow noticed what was right in front of them: the wall of cables coming out of the generators, sending electricity all around Kanto. An idea formed in Spearow's mind, and she looked down to where Bulbasaur was, unable to get past an angry Wartortle and his furious Bite.
"Spear Row Row Spearooow!" She cried down to Bulbasaur, and the Seed Pokemon glanced up, a look on his face to show his surprise. "Row Spearow Spearow Spear!" Spearow repeated as Paige swooped around, gathering speed before the final assault. Bulbasaur seemed reluctant, but glanced down at Chloe and saw the determined look on her face.
"Saur Saur Bulba," he replied with a nod, and leapt upwards. Paige wasn't quite sure what she was seeing as she soared down with a Steel Wing, watching as Spearow came out towards her with Bulbasaur on her back. But it was all too late when she, along with the trainers below, realized that Bulbasaur's vines were extending out.
"LOOK OUT!" Alaska shouted, shocked to think that Chloe's Pokemon could be doing what she thought they were about to do.
"OTTO PIDGE PIDGE!" Paige cried desperately and tried to turn around and escape in time. Nadia and Butterfree turned in shock, and Bellsprout stopped thrashing her vines to see what was happening, yet Bulbasaur's only got longer as Spearow took off towards Paige. They wrapped around her, causing her wings to be crushed, and Paige yelled out in pain. Shockwaves rippled throughout the trainers as Sandy, Damian and Lachlan watched the scene unfold in horror, but none of them were as appalled as Alaska, watching as Spearow continued flying and Bulbasaur thrust his vines out, ready to force the Bird Pokemon against the high powered cables. How could anyone do this, how could a Pokemon try something so horrible?
"GYARADOS, GO!" Damian suddenly shouted alongside, and Alaska turned around in surprise to face the trainer, but found Damian ignoring her as he stared up in gritty determination at the scene above, a look of anger across his face she had never seen. Everyone watched as Gyarados charged forwards, covering a lot of ground quickly due to his long body, and floated in front of the cables just as Spearow and Bulbasaur prepared to thrust Paige onto them. Alaska's heart skipped a beat as Gyarados was forced up against the cables instead, letting out an angry roar that forced Bulbasaur to let go: Paige was no longer in danger, unfolding her wings in a pained way as Gyarados took the brunt of the attack instead.
"Thank you," Alaska whispered, and Damian merely nodded in response, casting his angry look over at Chloe. The blonde had remained quiet throughout all of this and refused to look around at the angry trainers on either side of her, merely watching as Spearow flew overhead the walkway, most of the Pokemon still in stunned silence.
However, as most Pokemon came to a halt in shock from what had happened, Wartortle saw this as an opportunity and moved quickly. Bellsprout and Charmeleon were the first to notice as he lunged for the flag, and as Paige and Gyarados moved away from the cables, both hurt from the attempted attack, the Turtle Pokemon grabbed onto the flag and lifted it into the air.
Than the floor collapsed beneath them and the wall exploded next to them.
There was a gasp of shock from everyone, stunned by the sudden change of events. Sandy, Damian and Lachlan watched in horror as about one metre of the walkway swung down, sending Bellsprout, Charmeleon and Wartortle with the flag hurtling to the ground. Nadia had been further away and was merely on the edge, watching as the Pokemon fell below, but she and the airborne Pokemon were thrown as electricity suddenly burst from across the cables. Like with the generators, it seemed at first that something had gone terribly wrong, but Alaska and the others quickly saw this was another one of the reality shows tricks to add excitement to the challenge.
Yet no one saw these tricks as entertaining: orders were quickly unleashed to catch the Pokemon falling through the air or to avoid the bolts of electricity shooting out from. The bolts died down quickly, leaving the only sign of electricity as the whirr from the generators, but the jets of flames were unleashed instead, both traps ready to play havoc with the battle. Alaska was still fuming about what had just happened with Paige, and it was hard to focus on what was happening elsewhere as fury ran throughout her blood: she didn't care at all about the flag that was plummeting towards the ground now. All her attention was on Spearow and Bulbasaur as they remained in the air, and thoughts of how to get back at them.
"Clear the area!" Andy yelled, rushing around in fright as the three Pokemon crashed down towards them, Gyarados and Butterfree moving quickly to catch their team mates. He seemed just as confused as they all were now, something that Alaska didn't find reassuring, and her attention was drawn towards the Pokemon, wondering in the back of her mind who would find three Pokemon plummeting towards a possible death good reality television.
"Geodude, Smack Down!" Lachlan shouted as the walls fired electricity once more, forcing Gyarados and Butterfree to turn around. Alaska had forgotten Lachlan's Geodude remained safely on the ground, and watched as what was basically a rock head leapt up into the air with his hands raised. She had never heard of Smack Down before, and watched in interest as the Rock Head Pokemon greeted the falling Pokemon.
"Geo Geo Dude Dude Geo Geo," Geodude said gruffly, and he smashed his hands against Charmeleon and Wartortle's heads. Brown energy surrounded them as they fell faster towards the ground, and Alaska wondered what sort of attack this was until she saw the two Pokemon land on the ground as if they had only fallen one storey.
"Smack Down is an attack that forces Flying Pokemon to remain grounded for the rest of the battle," Damian explained, back to smirking as he looked at Alaska's horror and confusion. "It is still an attack so they get injured, but I think changing it to this kind of blow would soften it up for them all." Alaska nodded, watching as Bellsprout was sent falling and Geodude moved towards Butterfree and Gyarados, and thought again how a seemingly kind soul had become involved in this type of programme.
"Come on Spearow, don't let them get away!" Chloe yelled angrily, looking up at the sky. Alaska felt the fury rise up again, and while everyone seemed to be focussed on the falling Pokemon that were now beginning to get back up, she turned her attention back towards the walkway where a tired Paige had landed alongside Nadia. Just like how Chloe thought she couldn't lose this, Alaska knew that Chloe and her Pokemon couldn't just get away with the attack. Amanda stood smirking to the side, watching the scene unfold with great delight, and Alaska wanted to make sure the producer learnt a lesson as well. In fact, there were a lot of people that needed to have a lesson taught to them…
"Come on Wartortle, you can do this!" Lachlan called out to his starter, the Water type getting to his feet with the flag in hand, ready to keep on going.
"Bellsprout, stop him!" Sandy yelled. The Flower Pokemon nodded, and her vines shot out again, snatching the flag out of Wartortle's hands and quickly leaping up onto her spindly legs, racing off towards the staircase. Sandy cheered in her delightful way and ran alongside, Lachlan and Wartortle taking off as well with the camera crew not far behind. There were less people around now, and Alaska turned back to her Pokemon, knowing exactly what to do.
"Paige, Nadia," she called, ignoring the others around her and focussing only on her Pokemon. The two glanced over the edge, Paige looking better now that she had rested for a few minutes. "Do you two want to show them how we do things on my team?" Nadia nodded excitedly, eager as always to battle, while Paige shrugged, not overly bothered by whatever happened. "Well sorry Paige, but this one is just for you! I want you to dive down towards the flames using Twister, go!" Paige rolled her eyes, but knew Alaska wasn't going to budge and got to moving.
"What are you doing?" Damian hissed into her ear as Paige took off into the air. "Do you even know what that attack is going to do?" Alaska turned towards Damian with a smirk on her face, glancing towards a breathless looking Andy and a furious Amanda.
"I know exactly what I am doing," Alaska replied sweetly. "I am showing Amanda, Chloe and the rest of them that I am not someone to be messed with: try your little tricks and your twisted little moves, but I am only going to come back from them and show you what I am truly made of." Damian fell silent at this, and Alaska looked back to the air as Paige began to spin around, energy swirling around. "Yo boys," she shouted towards the camera crew that she knew would be following after Sandy and Lachlan, "why don't you catch a sight of this?"
"Stop this at once!" Andy cried, marching forwards but keeping an eye on Paige as the Twister began to take life, coming down towards the cylinder. "This is extremely dangerous and could end you with a very expensive bill for any damages!"
"I know some people that can pay it for me," Alaska said matter-of-factly. She didn't care about the damages or the cost and didn't care how the Power Plant would react, and nor did she really care how Amanda and Chloe would cope with this: she wanted this to end up on camera and get shown around in some way, and she wanted Gideon, Bill, Steven, anyone that she had met to watch it. It was about time they saw what Alaska was properly capable of and why they shouldn't mess with her or try to screw her over, and this was going to show just that.
Silence had fallen throughout the room as all eyes turned towards the spinning purple Twister made of draconian energy, the only sounds coming from the generators that all seemed to be getting noisier and moving around more, almost as if in anticipation or worry for what was to come, and the sparks flying from the wall of cables. Alaska watched with a smile as the tip of the Twister touched the top of the cylinder, hoping that Paige could handle it but knew she had the strength for this, and crossed her fingers that it all came together, watching as the sparks died down…
The result was more impressive than Alaska could had hoped for.
A tornado of pure fire rocketed up into the air only seconds after the wall fell silent once more, red, orange and yellow light casting a warm glow across the entire room. The Twister rose up through the walkway, and Nadia ran out of the way as it began to melt, hot metal dripping onto the ground. Damian grabbed Alaska's shoulder and tugged her away, all the other humans and Pokemon beginning to move as the generator began to smoke from the amount of fire spinning around on top of it. Alaska only glanced around to check on the reactions, pleased by the purely stunned emotions she saw, and was pleased to see it was all being caught on camera. To her the flaming Twister was beautiful, but she knew others would be stunned by it, and Alaska could only hope that it got her message across to Gideon and the 'elites of Kanto' that she had the strength to stand up and fight for herself.
Than the generator exploded before them.
Alaska had had a feeling that this would be a possible outcome, but hadn't really been expecting it when it did happen. It all happened very quickly and suddenly, the Twister seeming to just consume the machine and take away its life. Shards of metal and bits of wiring and machinery were blasted across the room with an echoing bang, but it was really the only sign of any change. Everyone ducked and tried to hide from the bombardment of shards, but Alaska watched transfixed as the cables on the wall began to malfunction as a result, sparks and smoke rising up as if it was all just another trap, and Alaska could only smile to herself at what she was seeing and what she had done, and couldn't be more proud of herself and Paige.
Once Paige came to a halt and the Twister with her, the full extent of the damage became clear: the middle generator was now silent but burning, only half of its original body remaining with flames and smoke dancing up from it once more. The other two were whirring harder than ever as melted metal dripped down from the walkway above, and the cables continued to spark and shoot sparks as they became confused, not quite sure what to do now that their only purpose had been halted.
Yet everyone merely stood there, watching the scene as if the Twister was still going. Alaska savoured the tense silence that had fallen across the scene, and turned towards those that stood around her: everyone, including the technicians that had been working behind, was staring at the melted generator with looks of pure shock and horror, none of them quite sure what had happened. Alaska smiled as she saw the camera was still rolling on the shoulder of the appalled cameraman, while Amanda looked like she was about to faint in shock and explode in anger at the same time. There was a whoosh of wings, and Alaska turned smiling towards Paige as she landed alongside with Nadia on her back, looking exhausted but also wearing a look that read 'Was that what you wanted?'
"You've just cut power to hundreds of homes across Kanto," Andy mumbled, his enthusiasm completely gone in what had to be the worst tour group he had ever taken in the history of his employment. "This is going to cost millions of dollars… I… I… I… I don't even know where to start…" Alaska merely shrugged at no one in particular, turning back towards the generator with the smile on her face getting progressively bigger. This had been a long day full of confusion on top of an even more confusing and exhausting week, and while she savoured being able to sit down for the first time in hours to rest her leg, which she could feel screaming in pain now that her mind was off other matters, Alaska knew that this would definitely send the message she intended to send in the war she had never intended to get roped into.
"If anyone is still interested," Sandy called from behind them all, "Bellsprout got the flag to the top of the stairs first. So… what do we win?"
A shorter wait, I think, for a longer chapter! Hopefully this one has come together better as it was written closer together, but I understand it may be confusing at the moment and seem a bit random. Stay tuned for Alaska's next blog to get a full explanation about her actions that will hopefully clear things up. One more part of this arc left though, and I am sure you are all going to remember that one for a long time to come ;)
Chapter Thirty Eight: I'll Drink to Your Death
"Is it just me," Alaska asked as she peered down the list of drinks before her, "but does a strong brandy sound like a mighty swell drink right now… or maybe a scotch… do you know your alcoholic beverages well Sandy?"
"Do you know your drinks?" Alaska repeated in a casual tone. "Do you think I should have a brandy or a scotch? Whichever one you choose I'll let you have some of."
"You could order the most expensive bloody bottle on the shelf and pay double the price, the bartender ain't going to serve you," Sandy replied almost bitterly, and Alaska laughed so loudly that anyone sitting nearby turned around, wondering what on earth she was laughing at. Alaska was a bit confused herself as she laughed, a tear coming to her eye, but it had been a long, long day and she was in need of something to take her mind off the throbbing feeling in her leg, the pounding headache she had felt for the last few hours, and the million questions that constantly swum around her brain, never coming to a stop, only gaining in strength and size as more puzzles joined them every day.
"Can I get you two young ladies something?" The bartender appeared rather suddenly in front of them as Alaska's laugh began to die down, though she and Sandy exchanged a look connecting to the handsome man before them.
"There are many things on this list that I would love to drown my sorrows in, but I'd imagine me friend is correct in saying you won't even give me a sip?" Alaska asked, and the bartender shook his head. "That's good, I don't even have the money to pay for any of these anyway. Just a water, I guess."
"You could always ask your mysterious benefactor," Sandy said with a cheeky smile, and Alaska glared over at her friend as the bartender fiddled with some bottles underneath the bar.
"I don't think I can call on whoever it is whenever it fancies me," Alaska said with a narrowed brow. "Fixing a power crisis is something I am sure the 'elites of Kanto' would empty their pockets for, but I highly doubt they'd open their wallets so a thirteen year old can have a brandy." It was Sandy's turn to laugh at this, and she continued to laugh in her joyful way until the bartender returned with two tall glasses of a turquoise green liquid, straws and ice clattering around inside.
"This is tonight's house special," he explained as the girls eyed their new drinks suspiciously. "It is a called the Venusaur, and is basically lemonade, but we've added lime cordial, apple juice and local berries to make it more of a health juice. Everyone gets one free sample, so enjoy!"
"Thanks for the offer," Alaska said, pushing her glass away, "but I am not eating anything that my Pokemon are meant to eat. I'll just have my water tha –,"
"OH MY GOD!" Sandy screamed, making both Alaska and the bartender jump, and Alaska turned around in fright, wondering what had caused the outburst. "THIS TAKES LIKE SUNSHINE!" Sandy said ecstatically, and Alaska watched in surprise and amusement as her blonde hair tipped backwards, the entire drink going down Sandy's throat as if she was dying from dehydration.
"I guess it tastes alright then?" Alaska asked, struggling not to laugh, as Sandy slammed the glass back down on the table with a wide, hyperactive look in her eyes, and she grabbed Alaska's one before the bartender could take it away.
"This is more than good!" Sandy said, pausing to take a long sip of the green drink. "This is some sort of liquid happiness orgasm mouth explosion delight! This is what rich people must drink, and I am going to drink as much as I can!" And she began to drown the drink, Alaska unable to contain herself any longer and began to roar with laughter once more.
"I am glad your enjoying it, even though it's not meant to be that good," the young bartender said timidly, "but the other guests seem to be disturbed, so would you mind keeping it down?" Alaska glanced around to the rest of the bar with a smile still on her face, but the laughter died instantly as she caught the glares coming her way. About twenty other people were in the small bar that sat next to the Route … Pokemon Center, and everyone one of them was throwing Alaska and Sandy a look that could have set all the alcohol on the shelves on fire, and Alaska suddenly felt as if she was a giant target in front of them all, about to have wine and beer glasses thrown at her.
"Don't worry, they aren't angry about the noise," Alaska replied solemnly. She should have known that workers from the power plant might end up here, the bar only a few steps across the road and the only place in the area asides from the Pokemon Center. While she didn't blame them for being furious at her, it still didn't make for a comfortable environment.
"Bartender, bring me another!" Sandy boomed, pushing the two empty glasses forwards and slamming several coins down onto the bar, the metallic ring earning them more glares from the patrons. "AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!"
"And I'll have some ice as well thanks, while you're getting that," Alaska added before turning towards her friend grimly. "You should slow down and calm down a bit there Sandy, there's no need to yell!"
"I have every reason to yell!" Sandy cried, sticking her nose up into the air and wearing a smile on her face. "There is no one here to mock me or make fun of me, so I am going to enjoy being myself! And meself wants some more of that drink! BARTENDER, WHERE IS MY BEVERAGE!" Alaska let out a laugh, watching her friend in an entirely new light. In all that had happened since they had entered the power plant, Alaska would have forgotten the incident in the Diglett Tunnel if it wasn't for her throbbing leg she couldn't put any pressure onto. While the mystery of Suicune saving them lingered on her mind, Alaska preferred to think of how the friendship between her and Sandy had strengthened due to nearly falling off the cliff. They had not had a chance to properly talk about what happened, but Alaska could only see their relationship getting better the more they shared, and having another brain to share all the mental stress was all she could really ask for.
The bartender passed the drink and ice pack over, and Alaska smiled and thanked him, taking the pack and moving to place it across her leg, which she had spread out across several stools. As Alaska turned, the doors to the bar slowly slid open before her, and three people walked in that she hadn't expected to see nor wanted to.
"Oh my god, it's them!" Sandy said, and Alaska turned quickly back around to shush her, but it was too late. "DAMIAN, LACHY, CHLOOOOOEEEEE! HEY! THERE ARE SOME SEATS OVER HERE!" Sandy shouted, banging the bench in front of her enthusiastically and waving dramatically towards them. The bar was rather small, with only around a dozen tables and several booths, the dark wooden walls left entirely bare, so the shouting only drew the duo more attention that Alaska would have liked. She tried to ignore the angry and judgemental looks coming her way as the reality stars turned towards the noise, grim looks falling across the boy's faces as Chloe came to a sudden halt, stone cold anger flashing across her face.
Alaska noticed Damian lean towards the blonde, possibly to try and warn her off making a scene, but Chloe pushed him back, not taking her eyes off Alaska, much like how the piercing blue eyes had not left her following the generator destruction. Alaska's joy over achieving her plan had been short lived as Chloe and Amanda had both stared furiously at her, neither of their eyes leaving her throughout the hour that followed as they remained within the generator room. It had been uncomfortable and unbearable, and Alaska couldn't even muster up a nasty insult to throw back at the two. Even though she didn't want it, their eyes bore through her skin and seemed imprinted in her brain: even when Alaska was pulled aside to talk to someone or tried to find something to distract her, she could still feel their eyes watching her, waiting for her to crack and fall under their spell…
The trio lingered in the doorway for nearly a minute, a minute which Alaska tried to spend watching Sandy down the Venusaur like an addictive drug and order another, feeling the eyes of not just Chloe but Damian, Lachlan, the bartender and everyone else in the bar, waiting to see what was going on and what the next move would be. Alaska couldn't even see if they were going to move or not, but a sudden thumping began to sound behind her, a similar sound to that of a Ponyta trotting across a hard surface. The sound continued for ten more seconds, before coming to a halt as Chloe pulled up the stool right next to Alaska's foot, heaving her high heels up and resting them against the bar.
"We saw the sign for the free samples out front, we'd like to start with those please," Chloe said in her sweetest voice as Damian and Lachlan sat down next to her, though Alaska knew the tone well enough to sense she was trying to hold herself together. She caught the bartender nodding, and he passed Sandy her Venusaur before starting work on the next three.
The general chatter throughout the rest of the bar started up again a few moments later, but at the bar itself things remained silent and tense, the only noise coming from the drinks being mixed together and Sandy greedily guzzling her own. Alaska tried not to look at them, struggled to resist the urge to lash out with her leg and knock Chloe off her stool, but knew ignoring them was the best option. Alaska and Sandy had left the power plant on rather bad terms, and the former would have liked a break before dealing with the 'Indigo Dreams' team again. And thankfully, it seemed as if the trio were as willing to ignore them as well, Chloe most likely trying to make Alaska stew or try to break her while Damian and Lachlan were trying to avoid a scene. Alaska was comfortable with that, and had some more of her water hoping things would stay this way.
If only Alaska had connected Sandy's behaviour to the drink…
"Another one!" Sandy boomed, doing a rather manly voice that cracked as she burst out laughing. "Actually, maybe make it another two so you don't have to make as many trips – even better, make it three!" The bartender placed the star's drinks down before them and quickly collected Sandy's empty glass, and Alaska knew that three pairs of eyes would be following them. Sandy glanced towards the three and clearly noticed they were staring, and Alaska cringed, knowing she should say something but knowing there was no stopping here.
"Is there something on my face?" Sandy asked, her speech slurring slightly as she stared bug eyed at the trio. "Does my dress look a bit funny? Or is it my hair, does it not look clean enough for you television types? No, none of those things? Well then, why don't you quit looking at me then?" She snapped, glaring angrily at the group, and Alaska wished that they had just fallen to the cave floor all those hours ago: at least it would be less painless than this experience.
"I'm surprised to see that producer of yours even let you lot out tonight!" Sandy growled, her rant continuing as she pointed a finger at the group. "Or are you trying to get some extra footage to boost ratings or some crap like that! Don't people on these shows always get drunk and hump whoever is closest to them? This probably isn't the right scene for that sort of scene though, but I am sure there are some crappy little clubs in the next town: why don't you three just piss off over there! BARTENDER, WHERE IS MY BEVERAGE!" Sandy boomed, and she grabbed Alaska's water and tossed it down towards the bartender. It merely splashed onto the floor, and the bartender rolled his eyes at the new mess to clean up. Alaska sighed as well, and she turned towards Sandy to tell her to control herself when a noise came up behind her, stopping her in her tracks: it was a soft giggle, the sort of laugh an immature schoolgirl might use, and Alaska turned slowly around towards the source. Chloe's lips were a shade of hot pink to match the sparkly dress she was wearing, and Alaska stared at them as the laughter passed through her mouth, sounding high and cold across the bar. It was the same mocking, jeering laugh Chloe had used on Alaska and all the other girls when they had been at school, and it was the same laugh Alaska imagined Sandy had had to live through.
"Oh my god, you two can't go anywhere without causing trouble, can you?" Chloe laughed, tipping back on the stool and clutching her chest in fake, overdramatic way. "They should really just lock you both away in the loony bin before you end up killing someone! You two are just the most pathetic creatures I have ever met in my entire life!"
"Chloe," Damian growled warningly, but Chloe waved a hand to silence them as she turned towards the duo, Alaska looking back with fury burning in her eyes.
"Mandy, Andy, Jandy, whatever your name is," Chloe said with false sweetness, focussing on the blonde as she downed her next drink, "I really think you need to grow up and stop with this crazy thing you've got going on. Just between you and me, it's not a very attractive look now, is it? You may have won that challenge today, but if Alaska hadn't been a total bitch and ruined everything, I don't think your Pokemon would have even done very well. I personally think that you should just try acting normal for once, and then maybe your Pokemon might be able to succeed." Chloe gave a sympathetic smile, yet her eyes were dancing with joy at the effect of her words: Sandy was not saying a word, simply staring silently down into her glass as the words washed over. Alaska wanted to comfort her friend, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Her mind was clouded with fury at the disgusting way Chloe was acting. It seemed she hadn't truly felt the effects of the power on Alaska's team even after today, and it seemed to Alaska that she needed to be reminded.
"Listen here you stupid little bitch," Alaska said angrily before Chloe could say anything to her, and turned towards her nemesis with rage fuelling her words. "You are nothing more than some washed up little daddy's girl and that is all you are ever going to be. You've acted for years like you are some powerful and bright darling that has the whole world at her fingertips, and I must admit that for a few years I was intimidated by you and the fact your father had the entire school in his pocket. But I now I can see you are nothing more than a weak and stupid tart that isn't going to amount to anything once this show is over. You might as well start practicing standing on table tops cause it's the only way your ever going to make a living once you've blown through daddy's inheritance." Chloe looked as if she had been slapped, and Alaska flashed her a vicious smile as Lachlan and Damian focussed on their drinks, trying hard not to laugh.
"Oh Alaska, you think your so clever, don't you?" Chloe snarled, her eyes narrowed as she glared back at Alaska. "You use your big words and throw insults and witty lines around like you've got them to spare, thinking it makes you so intelligent. But Alaska, I think you are just as stupid as you think I am! You hang around with this crazy fool you call a friend and act as if winning a few battles and blowing a few generators up makes you brilliant, but I think your just using them to cover up that you have no idea what your doing, only winning badges on flukes and simply causing some explosion or nearly killing your opponent whenever you come close to losing! How's that for a physiological analysis?" Chloe pulled a superior look, one Alaska hardly thought she deserved after blundering her last line, but, as much as it pained her to admit, there did seem to be some truth in her words. Alaska would like to mull these over at another point, but right now she couldn't let Chloe know their effects.
"I may not be the smartest person on the planet," Alaska replied icily, "but at least my IQ is bigger than my bra size." Chloe gasped as the bartender snorted into his rags, and Alaska had a feeling this argument was about to go down a slippery slope.
"That's hardly a great achievement!" Chloe spat back acidly. "Those things are more like zits than tits! You've got the sexual appeal of a brick wall, and I can imagine most men would rather go down a port-a-loo than go down on you!"
"Well we all know how many men you've let go down on you!" Alaska shouted back. "Oh the rumours I heard before I left on this journey, and I imagine that all of them are true, you worthless little wh –," but Alaska froze as green liquid was thrown across her face, sending a freezing chill throughout her body as her hair was washed backwards.
"I am not arguing with you anymore Alaska!" Chloe hissed as she slammed her glass back down on the table. "Let's end this, right here right now!" Alaska slowly wiped the Venusaur drink out of her eyes and stared furiously towards Chloe as the blonde stood up, hands outstretched. She was stunned by this, and her eyes clearly showed it as a smile crossed Chloe's face. "Oh yes, hand-to-hand! Let's see how strong you really are when you aren't hiding behind your back!"
In a few years time, Alaska would think back to that moment as she thought about the bad decisions in her life. Having a bar fight in public, dripping wet with a throbbing head and leg, going up against a girl with hot pink nails like razorblades, was not one of the brightest things she had ever done. But at the moment, as Alaska stared at the blonde in fury, thinking back to everything she had ever said and done to her and Sandy, only one decision seemed possible as water soaked through her shirt.
"Fine then," Alaska said with a smile, raising her good leg and instantly lashing out, "we'll play your way." She lowered her sore leg with a groan as Chloe fell backwards, the kick to her stomach sending her sprawling against Damian, thinking for a brief moment that she may have the advantage. But as Alaska grabbed the ice and placed it on the bar, she didn't notice Chloe leap up and lunge forwards until it was too late.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Chloe hissed as she grabbed Alaska by the head and forced her against the bar, digging her fingernails into her face as she did so. Alaska tried to push her off, but Chloe had positioned herself so her body weight was pressing right against Alaska's. One of her hands pushed down against her throat, and Alaska struggled to breathe as a knee was wedged up against her stomach.
"Break about ladies!" The bartender boomed, coming forwards and trying to push them apart.
"No, LET THEM FIGHT!" Sandy yelled again, her speech slurring again for no apparent reason. Damian appeared behind Chloe and tried to pull her off Alaska, but he seemed to get kicked in the legs and was forced to back away for a moment. Alaska stared up at Chloe, eyeing the furious delight in her eyes as she clawed at her face, wondering what had possessed her to take such violent actions. But looking up to her face pointed out an advantage to Alaska she hadn't seen before.
"GOT YOUR NOSE!" She spat, and lunged forwards with her right hand, grabbing Chloe's already injured nose and twisting. Chloe let out a scream so loud that it could have broken glass, and Alaska breathed with relief as the hands were taken off her throat. Her leg already hurt from having pressure put on it, and Alaska decided it was better to end this early than drag it out. Furiously, she shoved Chloe backwards and kicked out with her good leg, striking her in the stomach again and knocking her into Damian.
"Let's stop this now, alright, before it gets ugly!" Damian said, and he tried to grab onto Chloe's arms, but the murderous blonde elbowed him in the eye before running forwards again.
"I'LL STOP WHEN SHE'S DEAD!" Chloe screamed, her hands raised again, but this time Alaska was ready: she grabbed them before they could come across her skin again, feeling blood stream down her face and neck already from the first clawing, and the two became locked in a battle to try and break away from the other one's arms. Chloe pushed Alaska up against the bar again, but it wasn't as effective this time and Alaska was able to knee her a few times.
"FIGHT HER, BEAT HER, CLAW HER, KILL HER!" Sandy chanted only a metre away, banging her fists against the bar as Damian, Lachlan and the bartender tried to force the two warring girls apart, the other patrons merely standing back and watching with interest.
"Can't you control your friend?" Chloe hissed.
"Can't you control your vagina?" Alaska snapped back, and Chloe let out a furious cry, flexing her hands and finally breaking free of Alaska's hold. She forced her hands down and clawed Alaska's arms, but the black haired trainer wasn't going to let her get in again this time and launched back with a punch from each hand. Chloe was knocked backwards again, clutching her lips and eye, leaving Alaska breathless, holding her arms as they began to bleed as well.
"Charmeleon, go!" Damian yelled, and there was a burst of red light between the two girls before they had the chance to see what was going on. The red lizard-like Charmeleon formed before them, the fire dancing menacingly at the end of his tail, and Alaska turned towards Damian as he stood sternly a few metres away.
"This ends right now!" He said in a scolding tone, looking furiously between the two girls. "You are just making giant fools of yourselves and are just damaging the bar and injuring yourselves at the same time! You two can go on hating each other if you have to, but there's no need to keep this fight up!" Alaska glanced over at Chloe as he spoke, knowing that his words were true. She still wanted to teach the bitch the lesson she deserved, but was currently bleeding from several places, had a sore stomach, leg and head, and frankly just wanted to sit down and relax. Chloe didn't look too keen on the idea, still staring at Alaska with a look like a psychotic murder, but there was no chance she could do anything with Damian and his Charmeleon in the way. The two girls nodded, and Damian smiled at them in relief.
If only they had connected Sandy's behaviour to the drink…
"A Charmeleon, eh?" Sandy suddenly boomed behind them, placing another empty Venusaur glass onto the bench and turning to face everyone in the bar, and everyone in the bar turned to face her. Alaska could see instantly that her friend was not too well: slurred speech, struggling to stand up, a weary look across her face. Alaska wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything before the blonde had raised a Great Ball into the air. "Fine choice, Damian McStudly, but not fine enough! I see you Charmeleon, and I raise you an Onix!"
"GO FORTH MY ROCK GIANT AND BRING US GLORY!" Sandy boomed, throwing the Great Ball into the air. Alaska tried to leap up and catch it, but her sore leg wouldn't even move, and she could only watch as it spiralled through the air, landing right up against the wall.
Everything changed in a second.
"OOOOOOONNNNNNN!" Onix roared as he formed from the blue light, rising up like some giant explosion that tore through the bar. The patrons screamed and instantly began to flee as the oversized Onix began to form, already crushing tables, bursting through the walls and roof, sending bricks, wood and plaster crashing down. Sandy let out a cheer and asked for another drink as Damian, Lachlan and Charmeleon fled from the confused and flailing Onix. Alaska tried to run in order to avoid being crushed, but her leg seemed unwilling to move, almost as if it had gone 'Nope, this is your punishment' and was now sitting stubbornly in a corner as it waited for Alaska to apologize.
"EVERYONE OUT!" The bartender roared as Onix continued to twist his body in attempts to workout where he was, sending a hanging light shattering to the ground. Alaska looked around and saw that everyone else were already fleeing to the doors, leaving her, Sandy, Damian, Lachlan, Chloe and the bartender along. Her eyes swept across the shaking building, trying to ignore as Sandy demanded another Venusaur, and tried to get across to her bag on the floor to send someone out to stop him. However, she shouldn't have let her guard down, and didn't hear the high heels smashing against the ground until it was too late.
"YOU BITCH!" Chloe screamed, plunging forwards and grabbing Alaska by the throat as she looked up, the distraction Onix caused allowing her to get past Charmeleon. Alaska began to gasp for breathe again as Chloe forced her onto the bar, ignoring the blood flowing from her nose and the bits of ceiling crashing down around them, focussing only on her old classmate beneath her. Alaska could see the anger in her eyes, the shaking building only adding to the power Chloe had over her: Alaska was struggling to breathe, her entire body screaming in pain from the fight, and it felt as if she was going to die. As she struggled to fight back, Alaska could only think that what Chloe had said was true: she had always hidden behind her Pokemon when it came to battling, whether with the reality stars or with Gideon, never truly fighting for herself. And now she seemed to be paying the ultimate price for it…
"You know what," Sandy slurred, Alaska and Chloe's eyes both flicking towards her, "I never fucking liked you!" Alaska couldn't see what was happening due to her position, but heard as the thump and shatter of glass against a hard object, and felt Chloe collapse onto her chest, shards of glass falling onto her skin. "ONIX, WE'VE WON BABY! WE DID IT!"
The rumbling stopped, a curious growl coming up as Onix finally turned towards his trainer, wondering what was going on. Alaska thought it was appropriate considering that Chloe was now knocked out, and shoved the blonde off her chest as her head and leg felt as if she'd just been shot. Chloe rolled onto the rest of the bar, her blonde hair already stained red from the blood coming from her head.
"Sandy, Chloe may be a bitchy little whore, but that doesn't mean you can just beat her over the head with a glass," Alaska said as she slid forwards, moaning in pain as she did so, "what if you had killed her?"
"Oh fuck you; it seemed like a good idea at the time!" Sandy stuttered slurred, and she tried to stand up, a fist raised as if she would hit her. However, Sandy didn't even stand upright before toppling off, unconscious even before she crashed into the wooden floor. Alaska rolled her eyes as she forced herself off the bar, instantly having to collapse into the nearest stool as pain erupted down her leg. She groaned and rubbed her head, placing the icepack that had remained on the bar back on her leg, and turned towards the others. Damian, Lachlan, Charmeleon and the bartender all looked petrified, staring between Alaska, Chloe, Sandy and Onix, not quite sure of what to make of the situation. Alaska glanced around at the bar, noticing that a good amount of the wall, floor and ceiling had been damaged by Onix, who now seemed to be sniffing Sandy curiously, and one part of the wall had been completely knocked through, revealing the rocky mountains outside.
"Look at this place…," the bartender said breathlessly, looking as if he was about to faint. He stared towards the teenagers before him, clearly gobsmacked at what had just happened. "This is going to cost thousands to fix, and I don't have that kind of money!"
"Well you can give the Silph TV the bill for this one," Alaska groaned. "I imagine my kindly benefactor isn't going to open his wallet for this, and I hope you're expecting us to pay when my underage friend here appears to have consumed a large amount of alcohol unwillingly. That's lawsuit material right there my friend," Alaska said, and leaned back against the bar, rubbing her head and wishing that she could just fall asleep and be over with it.
After the day she had had, with legendary Pokemon, falling off cliffs, somehow travelling through solid rock, making a generator explode, fighting her enemy and surviving a collapsing building, Alaska felt like she could do with a rest.
I have been waiting to write this cat fight for quite a while now, so I hope that it came together as well as I hoped. I decided to leave an explanation of what happened at the Power Plant to the blog, as I couldn't really fit it in here asides from the subtle hints about the mystery benefactor and Chloe and Amanda glaring. Actions taken in this chapter will be justified in the blog and during the next arc, so don't start hating on some of the stuff that happened :P Its the Blog and Interlude up next in about a week, so see you all then!
Blog Eight: Yesterday Made Me Feel Old
Oh boy… where am I meant to begin?
Readers, have you ever had one of those days where it felt like it would never end? You had to hand it about three assignments, go to all your meetings in one hour, all of your clients seemed to have some sort of problem that needed your urgent attention, grandma fell down the stairs, those sorts of days? Well, imagine having a day where ALL of those things happened, and just when you thought it was over, a bus drove through your front door and ran over your Meowth.
That was my day yesterday.
This is going to be a bit tricky to sum up, once again, so I'll just skim over things.:
- Sandy and I got into an argument, she fell off a bridge, I tried to save her
- We both fell but got saved by magical water that came out of nowhere, and I have feeling that it was Suicune that saved us
- We appeared next to the Power Plant (convenient how we managed to make two destinations in one arc, ain't it?), and unfortunately the reality stars were there, and Chloe McNose-Job was not happy to see me, and Amanda was rather surprised to see me.
- Sandy and I got roped into taking part in one of their competitions, which involved trying to get a flag off a walkway while some generators shot fire at our Pokemon. This wasn't that great of a challenge, but it kind of went a bit OTT when Chloe tried to kill me Pokemon.
- In return, I blew up a generator…. Soz about that guys.
- We were kept inside until the power got restored to half of Kanto, which the technicians seemed to do with a lot of yelling, arguing and glaring angrily at me. Our fabulous tour guide Andy went to get the big boss, who came down sourly and told me the bill had been covered for all the damage except for what the reality show had caused, which went down like cold sick.
- Sandy and I went to drown our sorrows at the bar, yet the reality trio showed up again. Long story short, Chloe and I had the cat fight of the century, Sandy got drunk, her Onix destroyed the bar, than she knocked Chloe out with a glass. I am now covered in plasters and ointment and pumped up with drugs to deal with my leg, which has swollen and hurts like hell, and I may be immobilized for a few days, and once again, I have no clue what the hell is going on.
You may be just as confused as I am. I can imagine some of you are wondering why I blew up one of the generators, which would have plunged many of you into technological darkness, and I myself am left wondering if it was the right thing to do.
However, as I stood there, watching as Amanda Anderson casually let Chloe try and kill Paige and Nadia, something occurred to me. No matter what you do and no matter how you act, there will always be someone that will try and tell you what to do simply to fit in with their own views. Many people have bosses or unions to control them, while CEO's and celebrities are dictated by society's views on how they should act in their positions of power. I have Gideon and those lovely 'Kanto Elites' to boss me around.
Amanda made me realise how much control one person can have on another, and how much they can dictate their lives. If I had ordered for Paige to push Chloe's Bulbasaur and Spearow into the jets of fire they fired at us, I would probably have been reported to the police and be hanging from the gallows around about now if she had their way. In the same way Amanda has her control, the Kanto Elites have a certain control over me: they have forced me into this situation and are keeping me as their one soldier against one psychotic man. Gideon controls me as well, as he is keeping me in this battle and I am beginning to feel obliged to follow him.
But in the same moment that I realized what control they had over me, I realized I can show them a thing or two about it. If they want to try and dictate my journey for me and try and tell me what to do and how to do it, it is about time they see what I am capable of and what I am willing to do. And if Gideon thinks I am some foolish little girl that has gotten involved in something a lot bigger than herself, than he's got another thing coming.
I blew up the generator to show that I have the balls to take this man on, and that if I am going to be the only one stuck in this fight, than I am going to give it all I've got to give.
Other things have been plaguing my thoughts as well. I still don't know if it was Suicune or not, but it did look a lot like him, and I remember seeing the legendary Pokemon appear in Vermilion City. Is there a chance that he is following us? Some of your previous comments confirm that Red does still own him, so why is the Champion sending one of his legendaries after me? And who exactly paid for the damages to be cleared? One moment Sandy and I were sitting at a desk being treated as if we were in quarantine and any technician that came near us would die, and then the next the big boss is kindly escorting us out of the building. Someone did something, and I want to know who, what and why.
And then there was Amanda. When she first saw that I was standing outside the power plant with her stars, she looked as if she had just seen a ghost, and I am starting to get the feeling that that is exactly what she thought I was. I have no proof, but with all the times I've nearly died lately, with exploding tunnels and collapsing bridges, it would be easy that someone could be behind them. Gideon was nearly killed by the GolemBot, so I highly doubt that he had anything to do with something that would have ruined his plans, but I have occasionally been proven wrong, but only when I make my statements in the middle of an alcohol-fuelled boasting binge.
There was just something about the way Amanda looked at me when she first saw us, as if some dark thing from her past she thought had been destroyed had come back to haunt her some more. She had looked so smug during the challenge, thinking I would lose, and that turned to pure anger after I literally blew it apart and then got off without any harm. The boss passed a slip of paper onto Amanda before taking Sandy and I upstairs, and I could tell from her expression that it wasn't good news. Sandy wasn't even given her prize for winning the challenge, something that probably contributed to her drinking later on, and I could sense Amanda giving us murderous looks as we left the generator room, knowing perfectly well that we were getting away and probably knowing who had freed us.
Yesterday was a challenging day. This whole situation I've ended up in is like a jigsaw puzzle that never seems to end: just when you think you have all the pieces, you come across a new piece that changes everything as you try to work out how it fits in. I am merely glad more than ever that I have Sandy and my Pokemon with me on this terrible journey: we are surrounded by vicious and cruel bullies that will do anything to bring us down, and I need my friend more than ever. Sandy has taught me some great lessons in friendship and respect amongst equals, and I know that she is the right person to help me stick up to these bullies.
I will talk again from Lavender Town, hopefully with more answers than questions next time now that I have a new head to help me search through the puzzle pieces and rubble that lay around me.
Cheers my dear readers! Have a drink tonight and make sure you savour its taste: you don't know if it'll be the last thing you ever taste,
P.S. If you lost your power yesterday or your local bar has recently been destroyed in an Onix-related incident, sorry! Blame it on Chloe… I am sure you can find some sort of email address on the Silph TV website, right?